“The whole thing is very disturbing,” he said. “That’s working people of the Cape that won’t have housing now.”
The project, first proposed in 2021, ignited a contentious debate that pitted housing advocates and environmental interests against one other, and framed a broader conversation about Cape Cod’s future. The Cape runs on a tourist economy that is fueled by its natural beauty, but it also has the worst regional housing crisis in Massachusetts, with home prices soaring in recent years, and significant labor shortages — roughly half the Cape’s workforce commutes in from the mainland. Environmental concerns have often been used to delay or defeat housing projects.
Quarterra’s proposal would have spread 312 apartments across 13 buildings on 40 acres of land on the old golf course. It faced opposition from neighbors almost as soon as it was proposed, and a resident group called Save Twin Brooks sued to block it on environmental grounds last year. That, Carey said, stopped the development in its tracks. Then one of the most vocal opponents, a resident named Felicia Penn, was elected to the Barnstable Town Council, and eventually became president of the council. Carey called that “the nail in the coffin.”
Source: This Cape Cod golf course was going to be 300-plus apartments. Now, it’s set to be a private school.
