Town Authorizes $3.7 Million For Affordable Units In "New Downtown" Development On Sparks Avenue

The Affordable Housing Trust has voted unanimously to authorize $3.7 million in funding for the so-called “New Downtown” development on Sparks Avenue to help ensure that eight of the project’s 32 dwelling units will be rented at affordable rates.

The funding, which finally cleared a months-long discussion process last week, will be evenly split between a grant and a loan. In part because of the Affordable Housing Trust’s support, eight of the units in the development will be restricted to individuals and families making up to 80 percent of Nantucket's area median income, and all 32 will count toward Nantucket’s subsidized housing inventory (SHI) list.

All units in the development are restricted to year-round occupancy, a condition of the permit granted by the Planning Board, and will require 12-month leases. In addition to the new apartments, the development plans include a restaurant and an eight-lane bowling alley.

After years of regulatory hearings, the development, which will be partially built on the property that once housed The Downyflake Restaurant, is just starting construction.

Two of the men behind the project are Chris Fiumara and Daniel Najarian, the co-founders of the Boston-based Crowd Lending Inc., a commercial real estate lender. Property records show their partners include Jared Gerstenblatt and Christopher Grimaldi, managing partners of the New York brokerage firm Chimera Securities. Together, they spent $10.75 million in 2021 to purchase The Downyflake property and three surrounding parcels on the west side of Sparks Avenue.

The existing buildings on the site were demolished in February 2025, but over the past 11 months, only a foundation for one of the new buildings has been completed. Asked about the progress and a timetable for the project last week, Fiumara said only "things are moving on Sparks."

Fiumara said in June 2025 that the Robert B. Our Co. won the bid to be the site contractor for the project. A source told the Current this week, however, that the company has since pulled out of the project. 

The addition of the Sparks Avenue development's apartment units to the town's SHI list was seen as a significant benefit for the town's Affordable Housing Trust, and the funding was approved with little discussion last week.

Under state law, unfriendly 40B developments, like the controversial Surfside Crossing development on Nantucket, can only be rejected by towns that have 10 percent of their housing stock on the SHI list or are making substantial progress toward that goal. Developments proposed under the state's 40B law can have greater density than allowed by zoning if 20 to 25 percent of the units meet the state’s definition of affordable housing.

Nantucket is making rapid progress toward that 10 percent goal. With the addition of 64 units at the town’s Ticcoma Green development off of Fairgrounds Road, Nantucket is now at 8 percent, up from 7 percent last month, and will remain in safe harbor through 2027. The addition of the 32 units in the Sparks Avenue development will bring that number to 8.5 percent.