The wooded, 1.4-acre lot next to the Nantucket Fire Department is being cleared this week in preparation for the construction of the largest and most expensive affordable housing project in Nantucket history.
The $59 million Ticcoma Green project, which has been in the works for a decade, will include 64 units – a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom rentals – that will be available to individuals and families earning between 30 percent and 120 percent of Nantucket’s area median income.
The property at 6 Fairgrounds Road was acquired by the town back in 2004 as part of the Nantucket Electric Company land acquisition and has been targeted for large-scale housing project ever since. The town is partnering with developer Norton Point Development, which was granted a 99-year lease of the property, and Hallkeen, the real estate management company that runs the town’s Academy Hill senior housing apartments.
Financing for the project was just completed in December. Norton Point Development secured $32 million in financing from Rockland Trust, along with an $8.7 million low-interest loan from the town, as well as funding through the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and low income housing tax credits from the state.
“This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding projects Norton Point has undertaken, and Rockland Trust’s support was instrumental to its success-without Rockland as a partner, this project might not have moved forward,” said David Oliveri, president & CEO of Norton Point Development and a partner at HallKeen, in a statement. “This project has been a collaborative effort by many people over many years, with financial support from the Town of Nantucket and strong partnerships across multiple agencies and stakeholders. Nantucket has been one of the communities hit hardest by affordability, and Norton Point is grateful to be part of the team that has brought this project one step closer to reality.”
Oliveri told the Current the project is expected to be completed in 2027.
The plan for the Ticcoma Green project includes four buildings, 64 units, and 114 bedrooms. The 64 apartments would be divided into 12 three-bedroom units, 26 two-bedroom units, 14 one-bedroom units, and 12 studios. Fifty-one of the units would be restricted to individuals and households making below 120 percent of the area median income, and will be awarded to qualified individuals and families through a lottery system. The final 12 units would be rented at market rates. The development would have a total of 81 parking spaces and will feature shared amenities, including a bike shed, a picnic and grill area, EV charging stations, a playground, a community garden, storage, and an on-site management office.
The project has already survived a lawsuit filed by a group of neighboring property owners who appealed the local approval of the affordable housing development in state Land Court and then to a state appeals court. Those legal challenges were ultimately defeated when the appeals court rejected the lawsuits in January 2020, just before the start of the pandemic. But the financing aspect in the post-COVID-19 world has proven to be an even greater hurdle, as the estimated project cost has increased substantially in recent years. As recently as April 2022, the mixed-income rental housing project had been estimated at roughly $40 million. Nearly four years later, it stands at $59.3 million.
