Windover Selected to Build Senior Housing at Penguin Hall

A local company that is well-known in Wenham - Windover Construction - has been selected to complete the conversion of Penguin Hall into a senior living complex.

In recent years, Windover has build the Boulder on Main Street and several single family homes on the shore of Wenham Lake off Cedar Street and Topsfield Road.

The project is planned to convert Penguin Hall, on the so-called Mullen property - a 50 acre estate off Essex Street in Wenham.

The project, first unveiled last year, is being developed by Wise Living and designed by EGA Architects. Phase 1 will include

At the Wenham Annual Town Meeting in May, voters approved creating a new zoning overlay district and then placing it on the property that would allow the project to move forward. It still needs to go through the permitting process.

Built in 1929 by Ruby Boyer Miller, Penguin Hall’s original mansion and grounds feature period architecture in an estate setting. The project is also planned to include the construction of three new Manor Houses, each housing 12 to 16 residences. The entire project will have a 1930s-style.

"Penguin Hall served Ruby Boyer Miller as an elegant summer retreat and then Mullen Communications as a distinguished corporate headquarters," owner Jim Mullen said in a written statement issued late last week announcing Windover's involvement in the project. "There is no one better than Windover to ready it for a new career as an elegant Senior Independent Living Community."

Windover Construction is known for exceptional quality, said Chis Wise, principal of Penguin Hall Senior Independent Living and owner of Wise Living.

"Paired with their experience building distinctive residences and other senior-living communities, historic restoration and large-scale developments, they were the clear choice,” Wise said in the announcement. “We look forward to moving this project into the next phase with Windover on the team." 

Windover President Lee Dellicker said he was excited to join in the project "on this exciting endeavor."

"This is a complex project that involves careful attention to historic detail, while integrating a host of modern amenities,” Dellicker said. “We are proud to have been selected to build the next chapter for this storied property.”

The two-bedroom condominium will be priced from $450,000 to over $1 million and so far 102 homes have been reserved.