Nantucket Land Bank Buys North Mill Street Property

The Nantucket Land Bank on Wednesday announced the acquisition of 7 North Mill Street for $2.38 million.

The .5 acre lot near the Old Mill had been targeted for development, prompting objections from neighbors who ultimately joined forces with the Land Bank to preserve it. The property was purchased Wednesday with the financial assistance of 36 neighbors and other supporters who kicked in over $260,000 to help close the deal.

The property, which includes an open lawn and a handful of old black cherry trees, was listed for sale as recently as Sept. 2021 for $3.295 million.

According to land records, the property was sold by 33 North Mill LLC, an entity registered to Eugene "Jay" Hanley which had just acquired the parcel in April 2021 for $1.975 million. Hanley had recently received HDC approval to develop the lot with a 3,292 square-foot new home.

"We expressed concerns about the hardscaping application," said Land Bank executive director Jesse Bell. "Which prompted Jay Hanley to call me the next morning and offer the property to us at the costs he had into it. He said he loved the property and the trees and questioned whether he really wanted to be the developer of this property"

The plan for the new property is for it to serve as additional wildlife habitat on the outskirts of the downtown area, and to "provide connectivity" with the Land Bank's existing properties in the area.

Since the start of 2022, the Land Bank has been on something of a spending spree, having dolled out $24.8 million for properties at Eel Point, East Creek Road, Washington Street, Nobadeer Avenue, and now North Mill Street.