Lighthouse Station at Woods Hole

The 5.4-acre parcel that now holds Lighthouse Station occupies one of the more recognizable addresses in Woods Hole. It sits on a natural bluff overlooking Vineyard Sound, with sight lines covering Martha's Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands, and the Coast Guard station that has serviced Cape lighthouses since 1857. The development takes its name from that station.

Longfellow purchased the property at the end of 2016, the former site of the Nautilus Motor Inn, which had closed in 2002 and by the late 2010s had become, in Mark Bogosian's words to Cape News, 'a dangerous eyesore.' The plan from the start was a five-building 55+ community of high-end residences at a scale and quality the village would consider an upgrade rather than an imposition. Approvals were not a formality. The project moved through Falmouth's planning, zoning, and historical boards before breaking ground in the fall of 2021.

The buildings are organized by typology. Three duplex buildings (B, C, and D) sit closest to the bluff edge. Each is a side-by-side townhouse pair, oriented and detailed to capture the unobstructed water views the property is on the market for in the first place. Floor plates run between roughly 2,400 and 2,550-plus square feet, with three-bedroom configurations, attached garages, and finished basements where the building section allows.

Building E is the larger volume, currently under construction, with thirteen two- and three-bedroom residences sharing underground parking, an owner's lounge, and a fitness room. A second multi-unit building extends the program further. Four of the units across the development are dedicated affordable rentals at 80 percent of area median income, a community housing commitment built into the master plan rather than negotiated in afterward.

Architecturally, Lighthouse Station is shingle-style by intention. The cladding is continuous; the rooflines step and gable as the buildings move down the bluff; the porches and balconies are sized for the climate they are built in rather than the magazine they will photograph for. Inside, open-concept floor plans carry built-in window seats and multiple outdoor spaces, each duplex landscaped with native Cape Cod species. The detail-level discipline is what earned the 2024 PRISM Silver for Best Attached Home. Townhome design at this scale tends to drift toward a least-common-denominator floor plan repeated for cost. Lighthouse Station declined that drift.

The most unusual element on the parcel is the one Longfellow did not build. The R. Buckminster Fuller Geodesic Dome, commissioned by Gunnar Peterson as the dining room for the Nautilus Motor Inn restaurant, sits on the property and has been protected throughout construction. Restoration was designed by Fuller's grand-nephew, architect Deacon Marvel, and approved by the Cape Cod Commission, with historic preservation consultancy from Epsilon Associates. A preservation restriction now runs with the land. As Mark Bogosian put it: "The Dome is being restored and protected. Plans include gardens and walking paths fully accessible to the public, so the history and spirit of the building can inspire and be enjoyed by the community for generations to come."

Falmouth Living's November 2024 feature placed the development in its larger context: "By honoring the site's architectural, historical, and cultural features while creating attractive new housing, Lighthouse Station is a terrific addition to the town. It serves a need in the community by providing housing specifically for older individuals." That last point matters. The Cape is, in large part, a region of single-family homes. Lighthouse Station adds a category of high-quality 55+ housing the regional market has not been building enough of, on a parcel whose previous building sat empty for two decades, next to a structurally significant 20th-century landmark now coming back into public view. The project is, in equal measure, a townhome development, a community housing contribution, and a custodianship of one of Woods Hole's more storied bluffs.