If voters approve, Wellfleet will buy Maurice's Campground for $6.5 million
Denise Coffey Cape Cod Times
Published 5:00a.m. ET April 19th, 2022
WELLFLEET — Taking advantage of a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," the Select Board has agreed to buy Maurice's Campground for $6.5 million, a deal the board says could go a long way in providing affordable housing.
On Friday the Select Board announced it had signed a purchase and sale agreement with the owners of the 21.5-acre property. Completing the sale will need voter approval at a special town meeting on Sept. 10. A closing date is scheduled for Oct. 31, pending approval.
Select Board Chairman Ryan Curley called the prospective purchase a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for the town. Such a sale could be pivotal for Wellfleet considering the lack of affordable and workforce housing, which is currently 2.5% of the town’s housing stock. State goals are for each city and town to have at least 10% of its housing stock deemed affordable.
“Housing is why we’re buying the property,” Curley said.
Wellfleet has the lowest percentage of affordable housing on the Cape. Seasonal ownership, short-term rentals and skyrocketing prices have decimated the stock of year-round rentals, Curley said.
Elaine McIlroy, vice chairwoman of the Housing Trust, said news of the prospective deal gives her hope. She’s been working on housing issues for 18 years. Census data from 2020 showed 4,600 housing units in Wellfleet, of which 1,500 are year-round, she said. Only 38 those units are affordable.
“Seventy percent of those units are single-family homes,” McIlroy said. “This will give options and secure the future of our community.”
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The 95 Lawrence Road project with 46 affordable housing units will go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for a comprehensive permit within months, McIlroy said. But it’s still two to four years away from being move-in ready.
If voters approve the deal, a planning committee would hold workshops and public hearings to determine future use of the parcel. Curley said the committee would follow the lead of Eastham’s T-Time Committee that held workshops and conducted surveys related to the T-Time, Town Center Plaza and Council on Aging properties.