Expansion Of Historic Inn On North Water Street Approved By Planning Board

The Planning Board voted unanimously on Monday to approve a six-room expansion of a historic guest house at 17 North Water Street, despite pushback from neighbors, paving the way for the inn to expand by 60 percent.

The North Water Street property, which currently has 10 rooms, will still comply with almost all zoning regulations, but a special permit was required because it is used as a guest house and is located just outside the commercial downtown district.

Several neighbors spoke out Monday to oppose the expansion plan, citing concerns with parking, intensity of use, and the slow erosion of the neighborhood’s character.

“I’m fiercely protective of the fragile nature of this important and historic neighborhood,” area resident Anne Lingeman Davis said. “Our greatest concern is intensity of use…the latest request is substantial and contravenes the earlier agreement. While we welcome this being returned to its original function as a guest house, we do have concerns about the precedent this may set.”

Another concerned resident was Select Board member Malcom MacNab, who lives down the road.

“We have to remember that what’s happened is we’ve expanded, and cars seem to spontaneously generate from somewhere. I mean, people say we don’t have cars, or inns don’t have cars, but there are cars, my friends, and it’s making the neighborhood very different than when I first came here in 2007,” he said. “I think the Select Board and the Planning Board, we have to all—both of us—come to grips with the fact that we have a real parking problem.”

But the Planning Board felt that the application was in keeping with the spirit of the area’s zoning regulations.

“I think they’re building within zoning, I think it’s an appropriate use in the area, and I don’t honestly see problems with this application,” Planning Board chair Dave Iverson said.

The location is one of the few areas on-island where guest houses are allowed.

“I think that the amount of rooms being added is going to add very little impact, if any impact, to this neighborhood,” Planning Board member Joe Topham said. “I think if anything, it’s going to show up in the restaurants, it’s going to show up in sales in town.”

Several residents mentioned the nearby Verenda House fire during Monday’s hearing. Part of the 17 North Water Street renovation will involve adding a full sprinkler system to the building.

The property at 17 North Water Street is owned by Cailen Casey. Casey is a former managing director at Starwood Capital Group, a large private investment firm that owns several hotel chains. Casey also manages several short-term rentals on the island.

“These neighbors have had a lot of commotion in the neighborhood, and I want to earn their respect and be a good innkeeper going forward,” Casey said.

Casey purchased the building for $4.25 million last June from David Pogorelc’s Core Investments, a Boston-based real estate development company. Core Investments acquired the property in October 2023, along with 15 North Water Street, in a combined $10 million deal. Core Investments continues to own 15 North Water Street.

Seventeen North Water Street is a historic building, likely built around 1812. It was previously the Easton House guest house.

"17 North Water Street was operated as one of Albert Easton’s boarding houses throughout the 1880s," Nantucket Preservation Trust executive director Mary Bergman told the Current in 2023. "Mrs. H. S. Ross ran the Colonial Inn at 17 North Water Street in the years prior to World War I. Her grandson, Cyril Ross, Jr., and family operated the business as the Easton House. The Rosses also operated 15 North Water Street as the Hussey House."