Town Inks Deal To Buy $1.9 Million Home In Naushop For Municipal Department Heads

The town is once again adding to its housing stock, signing a purchase and sale agreement on Wednesday to acquire a $1.9 million single-family home in Naushop that will be used to house municipal department heads.

The Select Board voted unanimously to approve the deal to buy 9 Goldfinch Drive, with a closing date set for August 1.

"I hope that the community understands that we will not have town employees and we will not be able to supply the services unless we do this," Select Board member Matt Fee said.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom home is being sold to the town by Noah and Jennifer Karberg, who have owned the property since 2014. Noah Karberg recently resigned from his position as Nantucket Memorial Airport manager. The property had been on the market for just 45 days and was listed by Atlantic East Real Estate for $1,995,000. The Karbergs declined to comment about the sale to the town.

The acquisition of 9 Goldfinch Drive is dependent upon approval of Article 10 - the general fund capital expenditures - at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting. That warrant article specifies that the $2 million in funding will come from the town's "Sale Of Real Estate Account."

Tracy MacDonald, the town's real estate specialist, presented the purchase and sale agreement to the Select Board on Wednesday, calling it a "strategic investment" in the town's ability to recruit and retain municipal employees. Ahead of Wednesday's vote, MacDonald had written a memo to the board stating the town had been actively looking to purchase single-family homes under $2 million. 

"Nantucket continues to face significant workforce challenges and securing stable, long-term housing options at a variety of levels is critical to maintaining essential services," MacDonald said. The town has leased housing off and on, on a short-term basis, and while this provides immediate access., it is not a cost-effective, sustainable, long-term solution. Purchasing adds a valuable asset to the town's portfolio, providing housing opportunities for municipal employees (for) decades to come. Nine Goldfinch meets the criteria as a move-in ready property in a desirable, family-friendly neighborhood, where municipal employees can integrate easily into the community. In addition, this purchase is a strategic investment in its work in the town's workforce. Providing stable housing strengthens our ability to deliver services improve recruitment and retention and planning succession."

Select Board member Tom Dixon said the 9 Goldfinch Drive property was first brought to the Nantucket Affordable Housing Trust, but the trust was unable to proceed with the acquisition.

"It's not possible for the Trust to purchase this property for the usage that the town has in mind," said Dixon, who also sits on the Trust as the Select Board representative. "So this was the alternative way to do it, and this is just simply part of how the total real estate picture and finding and recruiting and retaining department heads, town employees, etc. So this may not be the perfect way of doing this, but it is, unfortunately, we're in the position that it's necessary."

Nantucket's municipal housing director Kristie Ferrantella clarified why the purchase could not be completed by the Trust: "The AHT's primary focus is on affordable housing initiatives for income-eligible residents rather than municipal employee housing. Since this property is intended for municipal workforce housing, it falls outside the scope of the AHT's mission and funding parameters."

The selection of which department head will ultimately occupy 9 Goldfinch Drive is "based on a variety of factors including urgency (such as an expiring lease), family size, and essential employee status," Ferrantella added.

The pending acquisition of 9 Goldfinch Drive would be the town's latest acquisition of properties with existing, move-in-ready dwellings in recent years. Previous purchases include:

• 14 Somerset Road (Affordable Housing Trust acquisition)
• 19 First Way (town acquisition)
• 71 Surfside Road (Affordable Housing Trust acquisition)