(Sept. 10, 2025)  When Governor Maura Healey toured Wiggles Way with me last month, she didn’t just see a new housing development. She saw proof of what’s possible when Nantucket comes together. Standing alongside local leaders, she helped shine the spotlight on a project that demonstrates how philanthropy, government, and community collaboration can align to create lasting solutions.

Wiggles Way is a 22-unit mixed-income rental neighborhood developed by Housing Nantucket, the island’s nonprofit Community Development Corporation. All 22 homes are income-qualified for year-round workers and their families, serving households across low, moderate, and middle incomes. More than attainable housing for our workforce, Wiggles Way is a framework for how Massachusetts can address its housing crisis: collaborative, sustainable, and replicable.

On Nantucket, the open market is out of reach for most. With a median home price exceeding $3 million, teachers, small-business owners, and police officers are often forced to leave. Each departure frays the fabric of the island. Housing Nantucket was created in 1994 to counter that trend by building a “parallel real estate market” — housing reserved exclusively for year-round residents and the workforce. Wiggles Way is the latest example of that vision becoming reality.

The project came together through partnerships. Construction costs were supported by grants and favorable loan terms from the town’s Affordable Housing Trust, with funding authorized by town meeting voters, and funds raised directly by our nonprofit. The Nantucket Land Bank preserved part of the site as a public park, enhancing the surrounding neighborhood. Philanthropy bridged critical gaps. A solar pergola canopy over the parking lot, funded by Remain Nantucket, the Community Foundation for Nantucket, and a Gap Energy Grant from the Department of Environmental Protection, powers the property and shows that climate resilience can be built into housing design. Together, these elements create a circular system: rents are reinvested, public funds are recycled, and the benefits last for generations.

For Wiggles Way residents, the impact is immediate. A family long divided between employee housing and temporary rentals is finally under one roof. A single father (and Nantucket native) has gained the stability his children need. A household once facing displacement has secured an ADA-accessible unit, allowing their child to remain supported by her school and network. Teachers live near the classrooms where they educate island youth, and municipal workers can serve the community without commuting from the mainland. These meaningful outcomes support the vibrancy of Nantucket.

State leaders have recognized that Nantucket’s challenges are not unique, but emblematic of pressures across Massachusetts. Governor Healey’s Affordable Homes Act and Seasonal Communities provision are giving towns like ours the tools to replicate a prototype such as Wiggles Way. Senator Julian Cyr has been a tireless advocate for the Cape and Islands, where housing costs far exceed wages, leaving the workforce that drives our economy struggling to find a decent place to live. Representative Thomas Moakley continues to champion the real estate transfer fee. Together with Governor Healey’s commitment, their leadership is creating the conditions for local innovation to flourish.

The completion of Wiggles Way doesn’t have to be an endpoint. It can be a blueprint. Leveraging revolving funds, pairing philanthropy with public investment, integrating climate resiliency, and linking housing to public amenities is a model that can be applied across the Commonwealth.

Massachusetts prides itself on world-class education and prioritizes retaining the talent that allows the Commonwealth to prosper. But without stable housing, that foundation crumbles. Housing is essential infrastructure — as vital as schools, roads, and healthcare — and investing in it is critical to securing our future.

Governor Healey’s visit reminded us that solving the housing crisis goes beyond cataloging what’s broken — it’s about amplifying what works. Wiggles Way proves that when local organizations, philanthropy, and government come together, we can build solutions that last. On Nantucket, we are committed to expanding this parallel real estate market so the people who make the island thrive can continue to call it home. Across Massachusetts, towns can do the same.

Anne Kuszpa is the Executive Director of Housing Nantucket.