Block Island Times

Planning Board holds public hearing on Grove Project

During the most recent Planning Board meeting, members heard testimony in support of The Grove project, which will be located behind the Gables Inn on Dodge Street. The public hearing was set as the board considers a special use permit for the construction of a new building for Block Island Beach House employee housing and the relocation of a single family dwelling to another lot.
54 Dodge Street Block Island OpCo, LLC
Plat 6, Lot 123
Attorney Joe Priestley, representing the hotel owners, said that Lark Hotels CEO Rob Blood, Newport Collaborative Architects architect Glenn Gardiner, DiPrete Engineering Senior Project Manager Molly Titus, and Matunuck Design Group Landscape architect Mark Butler would be speaking on behalf of the project.
Priestley, in his opening remarks, said “the lack of seasonal housing” on the island for seasonal workers would be eased by the construction of this project.
Priestley read from a letter he had submitted to the Planning Board dated Sept. 3 to explain the need for the employee housing:
“A great challenge to operating a business on Block Island is the lack of affordable housing for the seasonal workforce. As such, many businesses including inns, restaurants, and shops

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