Six years ago, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital surveyed its workforce and found that nearly half of the staff felt insecure about housing. On Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts where housing availability is limited and costs are high, the shortage of affordable housing was affecting both employees and the hospital’s ability to recruit and retain staff.
“The seasonal aspect of housing on Martha’s Vineyard has always been a challenge for our staff, who would often find housing off-season and then find themselves searching for a place to live during the summer high season,” says Michael Cosgrove, chief administrative officer at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs, Mass.
The challenge intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many seasonal homeowners became year-round residents, further tightening the island’s housing supply and driving up prices. As the hospital sought to expand staffing to meet growing demand, leaders determined that developing workforce housing offered the most effective long-term solution.
A modular construction approach
After determining that its campus could not accommodate the housing project, the hospital purchased a 28-acre site about 6 miles away to develop a residential community for employees and their families. Levi Wong Design Associates (LWDA; Concord, Mass.) served as architect, and Columbia Construction (North Reading, Mass.) was the general contractor.
Given the limited availability of construction labor on the island, the project team selected a modular construction approach, with building sections fabricated off-site and transported to Martha’s Vineyard for assembly, where they then received exterior finishes and architectural detailing.
Completed in summer 2025, the residential development includes 48 housing units for hospital employees and their families, comprising four duplexes, a townhouse with eight units, and two 16-unit apartment buildings.
Cosgrove says the housing development has become an important recruitment and retention tool for the hospital. In fact, he adds, there’s a waiting list for units. “The ability to have an affordable home here on the Vineyard has been a deciding factor for several recent hires,” he says.
