HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment from John WheatleyJacob Dewey, Chair
Barnstable Zoning Board of Appeals
367 Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Attention: Anna Brigham, Principal Planner
June 11, 2025
Dear Mr. Dewey:
I am writing to you to urge the Zoning Board of Appeals to approve the Wilkens Lane – Phase
2 workforce and affordable housing project. As the owner of Bradford’s Ace Hardware in
Hyannis, I can testify to the difficulty we have had trying to find and retain staff during the
most rapid escalation of housing prices in Cape Cod history.
The Wilkens Lane project is but one of many needed strategies for housing our citizens. The
42 affordable units and the 278 market-rate units will help address a portion of this
problem. If we are to have a future where regular workers in retail stores, small businesses
and government can continue to live here, then we need more projects the Wilkens Lane
development.
Bradford’s Ace has been on Main Street since 1892. My company purchased the store in
2019 with the explicit intent of keeping that family ownership and small-business feel alive
in Hyannis (why we kept the original name). I always thought finding good workers to staff
my store would be a typical part of the job. Now it has become a struggle. While I have a
great staff, many of them are having trouble finding or retaining local housing. I fear that
without a more concerted effort to build workforce housing, my business and many others
on Cape Cod will find it more and more difficult to remain operational.
The Wilkens Lane project is but one part of a multipronged strategy we need to keep our
workers on the Cape. Its location in Barnstable is a great step forward – one of many we
must continue to take. Please approve this project and so that our workers have a place to
live.
Yours truly,
John Wheatley, Owner and President
Bradford’s Ace Hardware
Hyannis, MA