Select Board presents $110–$115 million plan to replace Our Island Home; final budget due April 9

NANTUCKET — Town officials and the project team presented details of a proposal to replace the town-owned skilled nursing facility known as Our Island Home, saying on multiple occasions that the current building is aging and that the new design would better meet modern regulatory and clinical needs.

Town Manager Libby Gibson, who led the presentation, said the town has studied the facility’s condition “for well over a decade” and that the current building, built in 1980, lacks the space and plant systems to meet future life-safety and regulatory standards. Gibson and project staff emphasized the facility’s role in keeping advanced care on the island for residents and their families.

The proposed project, sited at Sherburne Commons, carries a current construction estimate between $110 million and $115 million, the team said. John Lemieux, the owner’s project manager from Vertex, said about $8.5 million has already been appropriated for design, permitting and preconstruction work. The construction-phase bid package is in the market; Lemieux said the town will present a final contract number to the Select Board on April 9 and that the town will take the final budget to voters at town meeting for borrowing authorization.

Why it matters

The Select Board says replacing Our Island Home is necessary for safety, infection control and to preserve local access to skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation on an island 30 miles from the mainland. Project leaders noted changes in state and federal infection-control guidance, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid best practices favor single-occupancy rooms — a major design driver in the current plan.

Project details and schedule

- Capacity and design: The current licensed capacity is 45 beds. The proposed facility would be built with large single rooms and 12 rooms designed so they could be converted later to doubles to expand licensed capacity up to 57 beds if the town elects to do so. Project staff said the design targets an operating model able to handle higher-acuity patients than some “small homes” models on nearby islands.

- Cost breakdown presented by the team: Lemieux described roughly $93 million associated with the facility shell and systems, with the largest bucket being the building itself (about $84 million), design/owner’s project management and project costs (about $11.5 million), furniture/fixtures/equipment and medical equipment (just under $3 million), and a roughly 5% contingency. The presentation also included about $13 million for relocation and site-work related to Sherburne Commons housing and site improvements.

- Funding and taxpayer impact: The town presented a tax-impact calculator on its project web page. Using the town’s stated average assessed year-round home value of $2,058,091 and a residential exemption of $828,000, the team estimated the construction financing impact at about $279 per year for 25 years for that typical property. John Lemieux and Finance Director Brian Turbot (presenting financial detail during the meeting) also said the town carries about $8.5 million a year in estimated debt service for the project; combined with the existing operating override, officials cited approximately $14 million per year in gross annual cost the town would need to cover for the new facility.

- Procurement and construction: The construction manager–at–risk is on board and the subcontractor trade packages are out to bid; the presenters said some trade bids have come in above budget and the team is returning some scopes to market to obtain additional competitive bids. The team’s goal was to begin construction in September 2025 with an opening targeted for late 2027, contingent on voter approval and final contract award.

Public questions and concerns

The presentation drew an extended public comment period. Speakers praised the facility’s mission and described personal experiences caring for relatives there, while others raised concerns about project size, housing and tax impacts. Key topics raised included emergency access to the Sherburne Commons site, whether private or semi-private rooms should be considered, and whether private operators could run the facility to reduce municipal costs.

- Access and safety: Select Board members and staff said Sherburne Commons has multiple access points, including a gated fire entrance off Maya Comet Road and additional emergency access from Old South Road; they said the design accommodates ambulance and fire apparatus access.

- Single rooms vs. doubles: Presenters explained the preference for single rooms is driven by infection-control guidance adopted after the COVID-19 pandemic and by anticipated state regulatory changes. They reiterated the plan allows conversion of 12 rooms to doubles in the future if needed.

- Procurement, bids and Nantucket premium: Residents asked why construction is more expensive on Nantucket than on the mainland or compared to Martha’s Vineyard projects. Officials attributed the premium primarily to labor, logistics (barge transport and crew travel), municipal procurement and historic-district (HDC) design requirements that increase certain building costs. The team said historical premium assumptions are applied until subcontractor bids are finalized, and that final figures will be presented to the Select Board on April 9.

- Operations and management: The town said it currently contracts consulting management services from Eisenstein Flaherty Associates to assist with billing, survey readiness and reimbursement, and that the town’s existing collective bargaining agreement would be part of any discussion about a different operator. Presenters said they have considered public–private options but that structural and contractual barriers remain; no change in operator was decided at the session.

Voices from the public

Applied demographer Peter Morrison framed the proposal as a response to long-term demographic trends and urged community pledges to a newly formed Our Island Home Campaign Fund at the Community Foundation of Nantucket. Several long-time residents described the value of having skilled nursing close to family, while other commenters urged more private funding or a private operator to limit taxpayer exposure. One resident questioned whether off-island options and the island’s changing tax base had been weighed sufficiently.

Next steps

Project leaders said the town will post the final construction contract number and budget with the Select Board on April 9; if the Select Board and voters authorize borrowing at town meeting, the town plans to proceed with construction procurement and begin work in September 2025. Officials encouraged public review of the project web page and scheduled additional outreach including forums with civic groups.

Ending

Presenters urged residents to use the online tax-impact calculator and to review FAQs on the town web page. They also said private donations collected through the Community Foundation’s Our Island Home fund could offset project costs but that municipal borrowing and voter authorization remain necessary to move the project forward.