Four people left an Edgartown select board meeting last week with the opportunity to buy a home within the Meshacket Commons affordable housing complex. 

The complex has been in the works for more than a decade and is one of the largest affordable housing projects on-Island. The Dukes County Regional Housing Authority organized the lottery, held this past Monday. 

“I think we all had black hair when we started,” said David Vigneault, executive director of the authority.

“At least we still have hair on our heads,” said Margeret Serpa, chair of the select board.

The affordable housing project, named for its location along Meshacket Road, has the capacity to house 100 Island residents in 36 rental units and four ownership townhouses. Island Housing Trust broke ground for the project in November 2024 and the development has a community building, bus shelter, solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.

Those selected during the lottery are able to purchase four townhouses located to the east of the complex. Applicants for the townhouses were required to be within 90-120 per cent of the Dukes County area median income and three of the four homes had listed preferences that made the process more selective.

Applications for 36 rental apartments within the complex are due to the authority by Jan. 18. The rentals are eligible for people within 30-100 per cent of the area median income.

Mr. Vigneault said there was a low turnout of eligible applicants for the four townhouses. Thirty households applied and he said some of the applications were incomplete and submitted last minute.

Mr. Vigneault explained that the low turnout could be due to tumult with employment. He said no municipal Edgartown workers applied even though one of the homes designated town employment as a preference.

“That’s a head scratcher,” Mr. Vigenault said.

The first drawing was for a two-bedroom townhouse priced at $385,000. It was open to households across the Island earning 100 per cent of the area median income and had six eligible applicants. It was open to households with two or more people and went to Kathleen and Jonathan Lowe. 

All other eligible applicants become alternates if the chosen household declines ownership. A second pool of drawings designated alternates for single-member households.

The second drawing only saw one eligible applicant. The three-bedroom townhouse was open to households earning 100 per cent of the area median income and priced at $430,000. It had a local preference for living and working in Edgartown and went to Marcelo and Gislaine Torres.

The townhouse had two applicants that did not work or live in Edgartown who became alternates.

The third home also had a local preference for applicants living and working in Edgartown. The two-bedroom townhouse were eligible to households earning 120 per cent area median income and were fixed at $474,500. It had four qualified applicants and went to Andrea De Landero and Mark Piland.

The townhouse had two other applicants that did not meet the local preference and will become alternates.

The final three-bedroom townhouse is priced at $529,000 and available to households earning 120 per cent of the area median income. It had a preference for municipal employees and a secondary preference for families that live and work in Edgartown. 

None of the applicants met the municipal employee preference. Only one application met the second preference and the home went to Josh and Charlotte Emin.

Mr. Vigneault told people in the room that weren’t selected that there would be more opportunities to apply for affordable housing in the near future, whether it be for the Meshacket rental units or other complexes in neighboring towns. 

“If you’re not picked today, you know there will be more opportunities, and that’s what our community really needs in order to sustain ourselves is for you to be able to have an opportunity to stay here and contribute,” Mr. Vigneault said.