A Chilmark resident who has been a benefactor for the Menemsha fishing community was the high bidder this week on a four-acre parcel of town-owned land off Meeting House Road.

Frederick Khedouri put in an offer of $831,800 during a sealed competitive bidding process for the vacant land, which the town took for unpaid taxes in 2017. Bids were opened by the Chilmark selectmen Monday afternoon. There were three other bids, but Mr. Khedouri’s was by far the highest.

In a cover letter accompanying his cash offer, the Peaked Hill resident said he planned to make the lot available for housing a commercial fisherman.

“For the benefit of the selectmen, let me note that it is my present intention to construct a small single family residential dwelling on the property that would be made available on an affordable basis for a Chilmark resident who works with Martha Rose Fisheries LLC, a commercial fishing business of which I am the managing owner,” Mr. Khedouri wrote in part.

Mr. Khedouri’s company owns the Martha Rose sea scalloper, the Menemsha-ported vessel that among other things had a visible role at the height of the pandemic lockdown last year, selling her fresh catch directly to Islanders on the docks.

“He’s one of those very generous people in town who have been supporting our commercial fisheries with assistance over the last 10 years,” town administrator Tim Carroll said.

Mr. Khedouri also has been a donor to the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, a group dedicated to preserving commercial fishing on the Vineyard.

The four-acre parcel at 4 North Ridge Road was seized for nonpayment of $100,000 in back taxes in 2017. The former owner is Robert Macy, who had created a subdivision in the area in the 1980s.

The lot has frontage on Meeting House Road, a historic town byway.

The most recent assessment on the property is $654,900, according to land records.

There are no restrictions on the deed, other than covenants that were part of the original subdivision, according to Mr. Carroll.

Town plans for the property have been up and down. At one point the selectmen had considered using it for a small affordable housing development, but that plan fell through. This past October the decision was made to sell the land through a request for proposals, but there were no bidders. After removing a minimum bid requirement of $695,000, selectmen released a new RFP in February with a deadline to submit bids by March 8.

This time there were four offers.

The three other bids were from Jessica and Gregory Mason for $517,000; Sheila Muldaur, Clare Manchon and Dardanella Slavin for $320,000; and Hilary Dreyer and Ben Martin for $505,000, according to the bidding log.

The town plans to put proceeds from the sale into the Molly Flender Fund, an established affordable housing trust in town, Mr. Carroll said. A portion is also earmarked to pay the outstanding taxes, he said.

He acknowledged that it is unusual for the town to sell land seized for back taxes.

“It’s not common for us, but towns around the commonwealth do it all the time,” Mr. Carroll said. “The market is hopping . . . [and] we want the money to move forward with an affordable housing project . . . Every time we do a process of an affordable housing lottery or drawing, we realize that there’s a lot more need than we will ever be able to fill.”

Mr. Carroll said the bids are currently under review by town counsel, and selectmen will meet next week to award a bid. Mr. Khedouri’s high bid will most likely be chosen, Mr. Carroll said, capping a months-long effort to resell the lot with a happy ending and worthy cause.

Once the sale goes through, voters will decide at town meeting whether the profits will be put into the Flender fund, he also said.

“We’re hopeful [at town meeting], they’ll put most of it towards affordable housing.”