Poole Property Restoration:
Securing a Future for the Island's Commercial Fishing Fleet
Our Vision
For generations, the waterfront structures of Menemsha’s historic fishing village have served as the vital heartbeat of the island’s commercial fishing fleet.
The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust (MVFPT) is embarking on the significant restoration and renovation of the historic “Poole Property”—a 6,000 sq ft building which operated as a fish processing center in Menemsha for roughly 50 years.
With this restoration, we will dramatically expand our cold storage and freezing capacity, allowing us to buy more fish from local fishermen and expand our reach to island residents, schools, and food security organizations. We will triple our ice-making capacity—helping fishermen keep their catch fresh. We will restore Everett Poole's legendary swordfish locker to anchor our growing Seafood Shipping Program. We will build a commercial kitchen that will allow us to process a greater array of local species and expand our value-added products—giving our fishermen a more reliable local outlet for their catch. If feasible, we plan to build affordable housing units for our staff, as well as office and community meeting space which will allow us to pursue opportunities we have never before been able to consider.
This multi-million dollar revitalization will:
PRESERVE the working character of Menemsha
RESTORE critical seafood processing infrastructure
GROW the businesses of our island's small-boat fishermen
STRENGTHEN our island’s food systems
SECURE a future for small-boat commercial fishermen for generations to come.
Photo by Alison Shaw
Photo by Brooke Marriott
Why It Matters
Martha's Vineyard is home to one of the most productive fishing grounds on the East Coast, and for the first time, we will have the infrastructure to match that potential. Our small dockside shack has carried us far: in 2025 alone, we purchased seafood from more than 40 local fishing businesses, produced over 773,000 lbs of ice for the fleet, delivered locally caught seafood to island school cafeterias, and donated a cumulative 280,000 seafood meals to islanders facing food insecurity since 2020. But we have reached the limits of what a small shack can do.
The Poole Property allows us to expand our space and impact. With expanded cold storage, processing, and distribution capacity, we will be able to buy more fish, keep more of it on the island, and get it to the people and organizations that need it most—from food equity organizations, to elementary schools, to families at the Farmers Market. With a commercial kitchen, we can process a wider array of species and create value-added products that give our fishermen a stronger, more reliable local market for their catch. With a true organizational home for the first time, the MVFPT will be positioned to grow in ways we are only beginning to imagine— deepening our community partnerships, expanding our programs, strengthening our island's food systems, and ensuring that Menemsha's working waterfront remains vital and vibrant for generations to come.
Scope of Work
and Timeline
The Poole Property requires extensive work. Our immediate priority is to renovate the exterior—replacing doors, windows, trim, and shingles to create a weather tight shell and preserve the building's structural integrity. Once secure, we will rewire and re-plumb the entire building to bring it up to commercial code and ready it for operations.
Though our specific interior plans are still under review, we intend to build multiple cold storage and freezer spaces, a commercial kitchen, a seafood processing area, an office, a community meeting room, a dry storage area, and maritime- or seafood-related commercial business spaces. Together, these elements will transform a long-dormant building into a fully operational, year-round seafood processing and community hub—one that will serve Menemsha's commercial fishing industry for generations to come.
Projected Timeline
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Summer 2026: permitting and interior planning underway
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Fall 2026: Exterior renovation begins
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Winter 2026: Interior renovation and utilities construction; kitchen equipment procurement
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Spring 2027: Cold storage and processing equipment installation begins
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Summer–Fall 2027: Facility partially operational; year-round programs launch
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Spring 2028: Facility fully operational
Photo by Claire Callagy
