Nantucket Cottage Hospital Spends $6 Million On More Staff Housing Units

Nantucket Cottage Hospital on Tuesday closed on three homes in the Richmond Great Point subdivision off Old South Road for just over $6 million.

The significant investment to acquire the three newly built, four-bedroom houses in the Sandpiper Place II development for staff housing purposes was completed with funds from the hospital's donors.

“Housing is an enormous challenge for NCH as it is for every organization on the island," said Jeff Coakley, NCH's communications manager and public information officer. "The hospital’s needs are particularly complex given the variety of staff relationships required to deliver excellent healthcare on the island. These properties were the right combination of configuration, value, and timing to address near-term needs while fitting into a longer-term strategy that we will be sharing in the coming months.”

In a memo to staff this week, the hospital stated that initially the new houses will be used to house visiting caregivers, seasonal staff, and new full-time employees transitioning to the island. In the long term, the properties are expected to fit into the hospital's strategy to provide more affordability, flexibility, and options for housing full-time hospital staff.

The three houses were purchased from Nantucket Property Owner LLC, a real estate investment company that paid $8.4 million for 36 vacant lots within Richmond’s “Sandpiper” subdivision in January 2022. The properties acquired by the hospital and their prices include: 

• 13 Honeysuckle Drive, $1.98 million
• 7 Indigo Drive, $1.86 million
• 5 Indigo Drive, $2.34 million

The acquisitions bring the total number of new staff housing units to 10, including 38 bedrooms and bathrooms, that the hospital has purchased or constructed over the past two years.

In December 2022, the hospital broke ground on a new workforce housing project at 60 Meadowview Drive that will include a total of eight bedrooms and eight baths. The units are modular homes manufactured off-island by Dreamline Modular Homes.

Earlier in 2022, the hospital sealed the deal on a $3.7 million investment in new staff housing with the acquisition of two new duplexes within the Richmond Great Point Development at 39 and 41 Beach Grass Road.