Three Island residents walked away from the Tisbury selectmen’s meeting this past week with the opportunity to buy a home close to downtown Vineyard Haven for a dramatically reduced price.
The house at 49 Bailey Park Road in West Tisbury has new owners.
At a groundbreaking ceremony last Saturday, Doug Ruskin, president of Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard, introduced Joe Fragosa Jr., his wife, Jennifer, and their five-year-old daughter, Briana.
Mr. Fragosa, 51, said he and his wife have been looking for a permanent home for seven years. He is an arborist who grew up on the Island. She is a water safety instructor.
It’s been 120 years since the Noyes Building on Pennacock avenue first opened its doors to the Oak Bluffs community, serving as a post office, a market and most recently a library. And now it houses Conroy’s Apothecary and three affordable housing apartments, welcoming lower income families into a more urban neighborhood.
A smiling sandy-haired toddler hung from his mother’s hip as he dipped his hand into a colorfully decorated box to pull out a hot pink card. “This one,” he said cheerfully as he handed off his selection to Chilmarker Todd Christy.
Mr. Christy glanced at the card. “Four Beech Grove,” he said.
The boy’s was just one in a sea of smiling faces, but none were brighter than his mother, Jennifer Wlodyka’s, as she heard Mr. Christy call out her new address to the crowd.
Dozens of curious Islanders turned out to take part in Saturday’s green tour of the affordable housing project under construction at 250 State Road in West Tisbury. The sun was shining on a bitterly cold day as members of the Island Housing Trust and South Mountain Company led visitors through three solar homes in various stages of completion.
Calling it a test of town priorities, the executive director of the Island Affordable Housing Fund this week asked the Oak Bluffs Community Preservation Committee to commit another $400,000 to the financially troubled Bradley Square project, in the name of historic preservation.
Living and raising a family on Martha’s Vineyard for the last 11 years has provided me with a broad knowledge of local charitable organizations, each striving to protect what is special about our Island community. Despite the daunting number of nonprofit organizations, there is an impressive level of respect and support shared among these groups. I’m sure most would agree that the charitable work of this Island is impressive.
