About the Project
The Waterhouse will offer 116 units of inclusive, comfortable and safe apartment housing with a 100% goal preference for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing seniors.
WinnDevelopment, an affiliate of Boston-based WinnCompanies, an award-winning national owner, developer and manager of high-impact apartment communities, is overseeing the constrcution effort on behalf of New England Homes for the Deaf (NEHD), a life plan community in Danvers, A, that offers continuum of care to seniors with visual and audio impairments.
The Waterhouse will support NEHD’s mission to provide long-term healthcare, housing, recreational activities, and social support in an accessible, barrier-free, and culturally sensitive environment with optimal communication and architectural resources.
Designed as a contemporary interpretation of traditional New England residential architecture, the three-story apartment community will incorporate DeafSpace design standards. These features include open view corridors and extra-wide and rounded hallways, circular and flexible furniture layouts, soft colors and natural lighting to allow individuals to focus on communicating through hand movements and facial expressions.
The Waterhouse is a first-of-its-kind community that accomplishes three key objectives:
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It fulfills NEHD’s mission to expand much-needed independent housing for the community it has served more than 120 years.
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It advances WinnCompanies’ mission to create and care for mixed-income housing communities.
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It advances the Commonwealths of Massachusetts’ goal for housing production that benefits all the people who need quality, affordable homes.
Apartments at The Waterhouse will be affordable and accessible to a range of incomes, thanks to federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and other public and private financing. Of the 116 new apartments, 74 will be leased for seniors with incomes at or below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). Nineteen (19) apartments will be deeply affordable at or below 30% AMI.
The Waterhouse will be designed and built as a Passive House community, meaning it will meet or exceed the world's most stringent standards for reduced energy use for heating and cooling. Windover Construction of Beverly, MA, is serving as general contractor, using designs by the architectural firm CUBE 3. Full-scale construction is expected to begin in September 2026 and take 19 months to complete.