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The Lighthouse Keeper
When you started buying the retail properties in Nantucket from Winthrop a couple of years ago, we wondered aloud where it might lead - whether your purchase of the properties would result in significant changes to Nantucket and, ultimately, to the character of this place. At the time, we noted that the choice was pretty much yours alone because of the tremendous economic power that you have accumulated on the island. Honestly, the jury is still out on where things are headed under your guidance. What is becoming clear is that, as a tourist destination, Nantucket is being bifurcated into two distinct sectors. One is the day-trip group which has been a staple for many years, but as one merchant used to say, "They come over with a tee shirt and a five dollar bill and don't change either one." The other, more and more, consists of people of significant means who are willing and able to pay lots of money for accommodations, meals and "souvenirs." The group in between, those who are looking for a great vacation, but are also looking for "value," seems to be a disappearing breed. People of this sort were the staple of Nantucket for many years. Today, there are few affordable places (and no such downtown hotels) for them to stay - gone are the Breakers and the Gordon Folger/Point Breeze and even, at one time, the White Elephant and the Harbor House - and, going way back, even the Sea Cliff Inn. Today, for the most part, rooms and good meals are expensive. The restaurants perceived as good value have lines down the block. Certainly you didn't create the blue print for what Nantucket is becoming. It was probably first drafted when a group of people got together in the early '90s and planned a new golf club. Perhaps, it even started 30 years before that when a group of rundown wharves were converted into the Boat Basin. Whatever its genesis, you have caught the ball of highend development on Nantucket and run with it. Per se, most of what is happening is not bad. Much of it is change and is inevitable, as painful as that may be. There are clearly people out there who are attracted by Nantucket's cachet and who are willing to spend substantial sums to buy into it. Nonetheless, it's a bit scary to think that there is a market on this faraway island for a lot of hotel/condominium units but if the market - and cash flow - is there, why not go for it. One feels for one's friends and neighbors who go through strenuous lease negotiations with your representatives over their retail spaces. The rumors abound about leases not being renewed. Some of them turn out not to be true, but we continue to see the "traditional" emporiums replaced by the high ticket, high margin stores. (Certainly the new rules about opening hours for the stores in your properties have placed serious emotional and financial strain on people who, for years, have operated their businesses themselves and are now faced with either working 12 hour days, seven days a week, or hiring someone to help them with the burden.) There is no question that you have done some wonderful things for Nantucket. You have breathed new life into some properties that were in sad shape. Your support of the Boston Pops concert each year is of enormous assistance in maintaining a viable hospital in our community. You promote your retail tenants. Your attention to detail, as with the moving and saving of the sequoia on the "Mad Hatter" property, can be quite remarkable. Why then, is there a sense of discomfort about you and what you are doing. Some of it certainly relates to the simple fact of change. Some if it derives from the visibility of your current projects, along with those of two or three others. These are predictable and would cause comment anywhere. What is of greater concern is where all of this activity is leading. What are the implications for Nantucket going forward? What happens if, for whatever reason, Nantucket loses its cachet and is no longer the resort of choice for those who now flock here? (People can be very fickle!) How does the island community maintain its viability in the face of the change that is working its way through the island's viscera? What happens if you get hit by a truck? Will Nantucket really keep its character? Clearly not all of this is within your control. And, all the while grumbling, most would not argue with your right to make a reasonable return on your investment or, within constraints applicable to everyone, even to do what you want with your property. What is important is that we all understand the implications of what is happening as much as we can. Unlike Newburyport or Cambridge, Nantucket is finite. The spillover from whatever happens is contained within the island's perimeter in a way that makes it reverberate in the community much more than in a place where one can go a few blocks or few miles and be totally oblivious to a particular activity. In short, there is no getting away from you here. No doubt, you and your company do some long range planning. Can you share the gist of that with us, without compromising your commercial objectives? Can you tell us your vision for Nantucket, rather than letting us guess - and probably be wrong? Can we work together towards common objectives relating to such diverse topics as infrastructure and marketing? The futures of Nantucket and your ventures are too closely intertwined for the community to learn about your intentions first from Planning Board or HDC filings. It creates too much uncertainty - and ill-will. There may be a down side for you to be too open about your intentions, but let's give it a try. Maybe everyone will benefit. Sincerely, - The Lighthouse Keeper The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does necessarily not represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any comments to drake@nantucketindependent. com. I | |||||
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