BOSTON – July 17, 2025 – Ground was broken today for Tackenash Knoll in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, which will deliver 60 new affordable and workforce rental homes through a partnership between Island Housing Trust (IHT) and Affirmative Investments, Inc.
Committed funding for the new housing community includes approximately $11 million in permanent and workforce housing financing from MassHousing, $27.3 million from the allocation of federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), $6 million in direct support from EOHLC, $3.6 million through IHT, and $750,000 through the town of Oak Bluffs. Stratford Capital Group, LLC, is the tax credit investor and syndicator and Rockland Trust Company is the construction lender.
"Island Housing Trust in partnership with Affirmative Investments is excited to be breaking ground on the Town of Oak Bluffs' Tackenash Knoll neighborhood of 60 new rental homes," said Philippe Jordi, CEO of Island Housing Trust. "Tackenash Knoll represents the largest neighborhood of year-round affordable and workforce housing on Martha’s Vineyard and comes at a time when over 1,000 working island residents and their families face housing insecurity."
"Affirmative Investments, Inc. is excited to continue our strong relationship with MassHousing, Island Housing Trust, the Town of Oak Bluffs, and the Commonwealth to create 60 new affordable apartments," said David Ennis, President of Affirmative Investments. "The Island has a tremendous need for homes that are affordable to households across the income spectrum and Tackenash Knoll provides a safe, affordable home to these individuals and families."
"MassHousing is excited to partner in this effort to bring 60 new rental homes to Martha's Vineyard for residents with a range of incomes," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. "These new homes will provide quality housing options for households who live and work on the island."
The development team was selected through a competitive request for proposal process by the Town of Oak Bluffs to create new housing on a vacant, undeveloped 7.8-acre parcel of land owned by the town. The site is approximately 3.5 miles from the centers of Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, and 4.5 miles from Edgartown, and is serviced by a nearby bus stop providing access to all main points on the island. There is a YMCA facility, a skate park and ice arena located adjacent to the site, and Martha's Vineyard Regional High School is a quarter mile away.
The development includes the new construction of 12 residential buildings. Six buildings will contain three rental units each, five will contain six units each, and one will contain 12 units. The walk-up buildings will be constructed in a manner representative of the existing housing stock in the neighboring area. Also included is a community building with a property management office, maintenance area, large community room with Wi-Fi, covered bicycle storage to the rear of the building, along with resident mailboxes. The plan also provides walking path connections to the Tackenash Knoll open space to the north, the adjacent YMCA building and skating arena to the west and Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School to the south.
The development is designed to Passive House standards and will be 100 percent electric. Photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs are projected to offset the electricity required for heating, cooling, and hot water.
Of the 60 new apartments, eight will be restricted to households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and supported by federal Section 8 housing subsidy, eight units will be restricted to households earning up to 50 percent of AMI and supported by the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, 27 units will be restricted to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI, nine units will be restricted to households earning up to 80 percent of AMI, and eight units will be workforce housing units for households earning up to 120 percent of AMI.
There will be 12 one-bedroom apartments, 42 two-bedroom apartments, and six three-bedroom apartments.
The general contractor is Dellbrook | JKS, the architect is Union Studio, and the management agent will be The Community Builders.
About Island Housing Trust
The Island Housing Trust is a non-profit Community Development Corporation and Community Land Trust organization that supports a diverse and vital community on the island of Martha’s Vineyard by creating and sustaining permanently affordable housing, both rental and ownership. IHT has provided hope and opportunity to hundreds of low- and moderate-income island families seeking a dignified solution to their affordable housing needs. Over the past 19 years IHT has sold and rented 166 homes and apartments to low- and moderate-income families throughout Martha’s Vineyard. For more information, please visit www.ihtmv.org.
About Affirmative Investments, Inc.
Based in Boston, Affirmative was founded in 1983 with foundation support in order to use financial vehicles to build non‐profit institutional capacity and scale social impact work. Its work focuses on expanding affordable housing opportunities. To‐date, Affirmative has facilitated the development of more than 6,000 units of affordable housing with an associated total development cost of more than $850 million. Notably, 29 affordable housing developments were facilitated through the Federal Housing Tax Credits program, resulting in the creation of 1,553 affordable housing units in several states.
About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 to confront the Commonwealth's housing challenges. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations. As a mission-driven agency, MassHousing uses housing finance to strengthen communities and lay the foundation for economic prosperity. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $29 billion in housing finance. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com.
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