The Baldwin, Londonderry, N.H.
In 1997, when CEO Marlene Rotering opened the Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover, Mass., she interviewed every new resident as they came in to gain a deeper understanding of their needs, motivations, and fears. It was the fears, she says, that really stayed with her: Social isolation. Feeling trapped. Being alone.
Years later, on a team-building bowling outing with Edgewood’s senior leadership team to Lynnfield, Mass., Rotering was taken with the mixed-use community surrounding the alley. Restaurants, a grocery store, theater, and housing were all in close proximity, encouraging activity and engagement among residents. “I’m standing there and I’m thinking, ‘This kind of setting would be perfect for senior housing,’” Rotering says.
The Baldwin—a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Londonderry, N.H., that opened in October 2023—grew out of these defining experiences. Days after the bowling event, Rotering went to the Edgewood board chairman to describe her vision and discuss the possibility of opening a sister property. With the board’s go-ahead, she researched the multigenerational concept and started scouting locations.
As luck would have it, the Woodmont Commons development was just getting under way. The project owners were familiar with Edgewood and its positive reputation, and they liked Rotering’s pitch to incorporate senior living in a mixed-use development. In 2017, plans to build a senior living community within the development began in earnest.
The Baldwin’s small-house model
The Baldwin (named for a type of apple grown on the 15-acre site’s former apple orchard) comprises 190 independent living units, plus 40 assisted living and memory care apartments organized into four small-house model neighborhoods. Service amenities, dining venues, wellness spaces, and walking paths permeate the senior living campus.
Open for a year now, The Baldwin sits on the northeastern edge of Woodmont Commons and is almost fully occupied. It’s one of the first fully realized areas of the development, which will also eventually include multiple retail and dining outlets.
DiMella Shaffer’s multigenerational ideas
“This is the first big anchor of Woodmont Commons, and I love that,” says Philippe Saad, principal at DiMella Shaffer (Boston), the architecture firm on the project. “Usually, senior living is the afterthought, but The Baldwin sets the stage for subsequent developments.”
Once the Woodmont Commons wheels were set in motion, Rotering toured properties in North Carolina with similar multigenerational aspirations to consider layout and design ideas. When the time came to select an architect, she knew what she wanted The Baldwin to be, even if she couldn’t fully articulate its design.
“I was trying to figure out a way to create a community where people can have some privacy, some areas of the campus where they can be contemplative or quiet,” she says. “And I also wanted other aspects where they could just walk out their apartment door and easily connect with other people in a natural way. It was really a challenge.”
DiMella Shaffer secured the project thanks to a tracing paper sketch of an idea that Saad had held back initially, concerned it was too different from most CCRC designs. When Rotering saw it, she said, “That’s it. That’s what’s in my mind.”
CCRC amenities take center stage
Approaching The Baldwin, residents and visitors get a view of the campus across a large reflecting pool that fronts the main entrance and primary building. This building sets the tone for the open, urban vibe Rotering was after, situated along one end of a “main street” (technically, Wexford Drive) dotted with outward-facing amenities, tree-lined sidewalks, and pergola-covered seating.
“Everything that’s inside the guts of a traditional CCRC was placed front and center on the sidewalk here,” Saad says. “The café, the hair salon, the art studio, and the gym, they can all be accessed from the outside, too. So, this outdoor space, this town square, becomes the heart of the community. And people are really using it.”
The dramatic glass-fronted entrance to the primary building is lined with a living wall that leads to reception and an airy community space beyond, which incorporates a living room, library, restaurant, and bar. An auditorium opens up behind the living wall; in addition to the art studio, an art gallery and classroom can be found on the building’s perimeter, with interior and exterior access.
Special attention was given to daylight and views; no matter where people are in the building, they can see outside through large glass walls, further connecting them to the environment and helping with wayfinding.
The second and third floors are home to Orchard Inn, the assisted living and memory care households, with half the units overlooking Wexford Drive and half looking out onto quieter terraces. Each floor is divided into two neighborhoods of 10, with separate dining and living rooms, kitchens, spas, and laundry. A rehabilitation gym, large gathering space, and outdoor terrace are shared by each floor’s residents.
“Putting people who need a higher level of care in the heart of the community works for multiple reasons,” Saad says. For one, siting assisted living and memory care atop The Baldwin’s main indoor activity spaces makes sense operationally, with direct access to the community’s central kitchen and service elevators.
But beyond the practical sense, Saad says, “A lot of times, assisted living or memory care are put off to the side, out of sight. But these residents are the ones who need to be the most integrated. They often have limited mobility, and they need more socialization.”
Orchard Inn’s central location also makes it easy for residents to get out and enjoy the rest of the community when family members visit. At the same time, the small-home model and room orientations offer safety, security, and sensory connection to the outside world—especially important for residents who aren’t able to come and go on their own.
“Just like everyone else at The Baldwin, memory care residents have the option to experience the urban center or to go outside on the terrace with views of the green space and trees,” Saad says. “We wanted them to have both.”
Campus prioritizes wellness and socialization
Across the street from the primary building is the wellness center with an enclosed pool and hot tub, fitness center, physical therapy rooms, and a yoga studio. Large windows here overlook the reflecting pool, which is surrounded by a walking path and well-spaced benches. Next door to the wellness center and moving north along Wexford Drive, retail storefronts include a spa/salon, health clinic, and small market.
These storefronts constitute the first floor of one of the independent living buildings, which each have four floors of apartments. Another building for independent living residents sits directly across the street (connected to the primary building) and more units are situated on the other side of the entrance road and reflecting pool, roughly perpendicular to the primary building.
Encouraging movement, community, and chance encounters with neighbors of all abilities—as well as with other Woodmont Commons denizens—the campus features plenty of green spaces, gardens, and paved paths. It’s also possible to cover all the interiors on foot without going outside, thanks to a temperature-controlled skywalk that traverses Wexford Drive between the primary building and the wellness center. (New England weather demands its due.)
The Baldwin to benefit from future development
The rest of Woodmont Commons continues its phased growth plan, as the developers add residential housing and fill out the tenant roster for its planned retail (100,000 square feet) and restaurant spaces (the community already has a 603 Brewery & Beer Hall, plus space for multiple restaurants).
Rotering notes that a new medical building will be coming on board, as well, close enough for Baldwin residents to walk to. “There’s so much potential,” she says. “We’re thinking about all kinds of ways to incentivize and enable our residents to engage with the new businesses coming in.
“The vision has always been to provide a community that’s not just seniors,” she continues. “Where you can walk to another part of the greater campus, hear kids playing on a soccer field, meet with people from different age groups. We’re not there yet. But I’m so excited.”
Kristin D. Zeit is a contributing editor at Environments for Aging and can be reached at [email protected].
The Baldwin project details
Location: Londonderry, N.H.
Owner: Edgewood Senior Solutions Group
Total building area: 470,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: Not disclosed
Cost/sq. ft.: Not disclosed
Architect: DiMella Shaffer
Interior designer: DiMella Shaffer
General Contractor: Harvey Construction
Engineering: AKF (MEP), LA Feuss Partners (structural)
Art consultant: Boston Art
Lighting consultant: HLB Lighting Design
Carpet/flooring: Royal Thai, Durkan Hospitality, Patcraft,
AHF Contract, Bolon
Ceiling/wall systems: Clipso, Topakustik, Certainteed
Fabric/textiles: Brentano, Momentum, Kravet, LDI, Carnegie, Pollack, Sina Pearson, Stinson, Architex
Furniture—seating/casegoods: Kimball International, Evoke, Integra, Crate & Barrel, Janus et Cie, Modloft, Versteel
Handrails/wall guards: Acrovyn
Surfaces—solid/other: Cumar, Dupont Corian
Wallcoverings: Philip Jeffries, Surface Materials, Momentum, Chilewich
Project details are provided by the design team and not vetted by Environments for Aging.
