Ernie Boch Jr. has bought Pleasure Island. He promises 'something cool' in its future.

SWANSEA — Ernie Boch Jr. once held a just-for-fun séance in the mausoleum of his palatial Norwood estate, where a psychic predicted he’d own a private island one day. That day has come.

Boch — the CEO of Subaru of New England and philanthropist who helped build a billion-dollar fortune selling cars across the Northeast — officially announced his purchase of the 4.25-acre Pleasure Island in Swansea, visiting his new property on Tuesday with assistants, friends, and the press.

This wasn’t quite Boch’s first time setting foot on his island — Boch also made a recent stop where he said he literally jumped a locked gate to grab a photo of the island’s dilapidated wooden bridge. But until Tuesday, he hadn’t yet fully explored his acreage.

“Isn’t this unbelievable?” Boch said, standing among shin-high weeds of a property long neglected, watching hired landscapers tame the overgrowth. “I love it.”

The question remains: Now that he owns Pleasure Island, what will he do with it? Even Boch isn’t completely sure just yet, but he said he recognizes the island has both great potential and a responsibility to the community.

“It’s about the opportunity,” Boch said. “This place is screaming to do something cool to.”

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Not too private, but loaded with promise

As far as private islands go, Pleasure Island — also known on maps as Shady Isle — isn’t very private. It’s inside the Cole River near Swansea Town Beach, almost completely surrounded by neighbors. Only a few hundred feet of water separates the island’s shoreline from the back decks of Ocean Grove residents.

Once a popular concert and event venue, Pleasure Island became problematic with neighbors due to noise complaints in the early 2000s; that, and concerns over bridge safety, led to its shutdown halfway through that decade. Previous owner Al Monte had a vision to redevelop the property into a family fun center, but had no support from the town, giving up in 2020.

Boch said he heard about a scheduled auction on the news. “They said an island was available in Massachusetts,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an island that’s been available in Massachusetts.”

On the morning the auction was supposed to take place, June 2, he “made some calls” and bid $825,000, causing the auction to be called off. Right near the elaborate wrought iron gate to the island’s bridge, a house at 469 Ocean Grove Ave. sits abandoned and decrepit — Boch bought that, too, for $210,000.

“At the end, I made them throw it in. I didn’t even know it was there,” Boch said. “The [seller] mentioned it — I said, 'You’ve got to throw that in.'”

He might change the island’s name, though. Boch said he wasn’t a fan of either the Pleasure Island or Shady Isle names. He joked he might call it SNE Island — short for Subaru of New England.

Mike Holland, Boch’s director of properties and logistics, said now that the island is in his hands, he’s made himself well aware of the island’s past reputation; however when Boch and his team develop the island, he said, they intend to be good neighbors.

When the sale was made, Holland visited with his wife and dog and a couple of lawn chairs. “We sat out on the point over there and we just watched the sun go down. And you could hear people on their decks," Holland said.

That proximity is foremost on their minds. Boch said he has no plans to turn it into a venue for weddings and concerts again — and no loud parties. “I’m kind of old for that,” he joked.

“From what I’ve read about it, the neighbors hated it, the town hated it — it probably wasn’t done the way they wanted to," Boch said. “Whatever I’m going to do is going to be quiet. That I can guarantee.”

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Pleasure Island's neglected shape, and what could be its future

The bridge to Pleasure Island is traversable by foot, but seems unsafe for vehicles — it's made of old wooden boards grayed by harsh New England weather and years of neglect, with a rickety railing missing in spots. Boch and Holland said fixing that bridge is the first on a long list of fixer-upper projects that they guessed could take easily at least a year to complete.

“Once we get the bridge fixed, we can actually get over here with stuff," Holland said. “We’re working with the town. We’ve got some plans from 2018, so I’m getting those updated. They’re going to come out and re-inspect the bridge … and once we do that, we’re going to work with the town and see what they let us do here.”

“This all has to be re-shored up," Boch said. "You shore that up, you do the bridge, and then deal with whatever is on here."

The island itself is littered with the remnants of summer fun, gone to pot. Two broken basketball hoops stand over a concrete court blanketed in moss, and on the island’s northwest corner a broken staircase leads to what once was a boat launch. Giant concrete blocks are deposited like a fort along the southeastern edge — Boch speculated that those may have been left there by the previous owner, intended to be used to repair the bridge. Along the eastern side is a pavilion that once hosted dances and concerts and cookouts. Underneath its roof, Holland kicks aside a volleyball that has been sitting there for who knows how long. Outside a building that once held a bar, irregular, broken chunks of highly polished decorative marble are strewn all over the earth.

Boch and Holland are cautious about describing any specific development plans, partially because their plans are still nebulous, but also because they said they want the town’s approval for any projects. Holland said they're taking “baby steps” with Boch’s property, cleaning up both the island and the abandoned house on the mainland, making things safe, and figuring out what they’re allowed to do with it by legal right. Even then, they plan to work with the town of Swansea to make sure they don’t step on any toes.

“What’s good about Ernie is he wants to do things the right way,” Holland said. “We don’t want to touch things twice. And he’s very big on maintenance. We’re going to beautify the island. We’re going to make it really nice, and keep it really nice for a long time. So it’s never going to become a shambles like this.”

Ocean Grove resident Dave Oliveira has lived in the quiet, tight-knit neighborhood over 30 years, and said he was happy to welcome Boch to the area. "He's reputable. I'm sure he's going to take good care of it, whatever he decides to do there," Oliveira said. "I'm sure it's going to be a benefit to the neighborhood and the community.

"He's not going to put a dealership down here," Oliveira joked. "It's off the beaten path, you know?"

Unlike many private islands, Boch’s wasn’t purchased to be a billionaire’s private getaway — he's looking for community input.

“I’ve got to strategize with what I want, then run by the neighbors and the town what they want, and see if there’s buy-in,” Boch added. “Without the buy-in of the town and the neighbors, you can’t do anything.”

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Auto sales magnate Ernie Boch Jr. buys Pleasure Island in Swansea