Oak Bluffs has finally had it with the hulking, empty Island Theatre on Circuit Avenue. This week, voters signed off on a plan that lets the town spend up to $5 million to buy the long-vacant movie house or, if talks fail, take it by eminent domain. The move cleared both the annual town meeting and the town election over the vocal objections of the owners. The historic theater has sat dark for more than a decade at the head of Circuit Avenue and has become a recurring sore spot for downtown businesses and residents.
What Voters Approved
On the second night of annual town meeting, residents voted 164-31 to authorize the town to borrow up to $5 million to acquire the Island Theatre and to begin an eminent-domain process if needed, according to the Vineyard Gazette. The borrowing is a debt-exclusion measure meant to cover acquisition costs, legal fees, preliminary improvements and potential demolition. Members of the select board said the figure is designed to give the town flexibility to buy, seize or clear the site once a specific plan is in place.
Ballot Ratification
Voters then ratified the borrowing question at the annual town election, approving the debt exclusion by roughly a 3-to-1 margin, 451-162, according to the Martha's Vineyard Times. With that ballot vote, the select board now has the legal authority to pursue either a negotiated acquisition or eminent-domain proceedings. Town officials emphasized that any actual redevelopment or long-term use for the property will still need additional public review and separate approvals.
Owners Push Back
Owners Benjamin Hall Jr. and Brian Hall urged town meeting voters to give them more time to land a private buyer, arguing that limited wastewater capacity and storm damage have complicated both sales efforts and repairs, according to the Boston Business Journal. The Halls acknowledged the theater looks rough from the street but insisted the structure itself is sound and said they had façade work planned for the summer. Several residents were not convinced, describing the deteriorated frontage as an ongoing eyesore in the town's main commercial corridor.
Legal Implications
Town counsel Michael Goldsmith told the meeting that if eminent-domain proceedings begin, the Halls would be compensated at the property's appraised fair market value and that the process could take years and face legal challenges, as reported by the Martha's Vineyard Times. The Halls have previously contested municipal takings, and officials said the current appropriation is meant to cover potential litigation, planning and interim work, but not the cost of long-term redevelopment.
How It Got Here
The Island Theatre has been shuttered since about 2012 and was declared a safety hazard in 2016, a designation that led to court-ordered repairs and repeated pressure from the town to address the blight, according to the Vineyard Gazette. Town officials and longtime residents pointed to the theater's prominent location as a reason they see action as overdue and likened the move to earlier island takings, including Edgartown's 2017 eminent-domain purchase of a blighted property. The owners counter that without improved wastewater infrastructure the lot is difficult to redevelop privately and that private solutions are still possible.
What's Next For The Block
With borrowing now authorized, the select board plans to assemble a committee to study options and recommend next steps, including possible demolition, a sale, or some kind of community project, according to local coverage in the Boston Business Journal. Any final proposal for the site will require additional approvals and, almost certainly, more money. Town officials are already warning that acquisition is only the start of what is likely to be a multi-year process, with timelines and costs subject to change as legal and planning work unfolds. Many islanders say they want a clear, publicly vetted plan before Oak Bluffs takes on the heavier lift of funding and building whatever comes next on the Island Theatre block.
