The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank will purchase 26 acres near Priester's Pond, and a new nonprofit led by Thomas Bena will purchase an adjoining 14 acres.

Open space conservation, winterized housing for employees and generous assistance from a community bank are all factors in an out-of-the-ordinary purchase by the land bank.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank added a key waterfront parcel to its holdings this week with the purchase of a 21-acre peninsula on the Edgartown Great Pond. The seller is John O’Keefe.

The summer of 2021 saw increase in visitors over last year to many Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank properties, as Islanders took to the woods and trails, fueled in part by pandemic limitations on indoor activities.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank added another 250 feet of oceanfront property to its holdings along the Tashmoo peninsula in Tisbury, with the purchase of a lot that abuts the Tashmoo Preserve.

A long-anticipated plan for affordable housing near the YMCA in Oak Bluffs is taking another step forward, with the top two developers bidding for the project’s initial phase.