Heritage Sands, a new development near the northern tip of the U.S. East Coast, doesn’t stray far from its roots. Located along an 8-acre stretch of Dennis Port, Mass.—the epicenter of Cape Cod’s cottage colonies in the 1930s—the re-envisioned pocket community clusters 63 modest houses that evolved from a former campground and summertime destination. The town currently houses the Cape’s first beachfront cottage community in over 50 years.
“We were looking to turn the clock back,” says Rob Brennan of CapeBuilt Development, who co-developed Heritage Sands with his business partner and the project’s builder, Mark DeWitt of MS Ocean View. “Back then, families on our stretch of Dennis Port made standing reservations on the campsites year after year. Those small sites evolved into colonies of tightly knit families and friends who eventually sought sturdier shelter, and began building humble cottages there.”
Though the tents have been replaced with homes designed by local firm Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, the historically social spirit of the region, now dubbed Nantucket Sound, is held intact by a site plan that winds the community’s one-, two-, and three-bedroom cottages around green common spaces that encourage social interaction. The development’s largest gathering spaces, a community clubhouse and swimming pool, host larger family functions and athletic activities.
Rather than creating a handful of waterfront trophy homes, the project practices restraint in both size and construction. The developers worked with the town’s seasonal cottage ordinance to comply with a dense land plan unique to the Cape. Though the homes range in size, compact floor plans spread over one-and-a-half stories are centered around open common spaces heightened with tall, lofty ceilings that ensure no footprint exceeds 900 square feet. Reflecting a quintessential Cape Cod aesthetic, each cottage’s exterior features gray cedar shingles and white trim to accentuate its classical form and simple lines. Inside, the rooms are finished in a neutral palette to achieve an upscale but relaxed feel through simple craftsmanship.
The project team worked with local industry talent, including construction manager John Hutchins and landscape designer Rob DeMelo, to preserve the integrity of the landscape and determine design solutions for the challenging coastal conditions. Brennan notes they wanted people “who know how to weatherproof the project in such a way that withstands anything nature decides to throw at a house perched on the Cape.”
Each home was constructed to exacting coastal standards that meet or exceed the 110-mph wind zone provisions set by the Massachusetts Building Code and FEMA. The homes feature hurricane-rated windows and steel straps that bolt the cottages to their foundations. To minimize impact on the dunes and wetlands, each unit was constructed off-site using a four-component, modular system that doesn’t compromise the cottage look. The method also allowed the team to build under controlled conditions and tighter engineering specifications.
For the landscape, the team sought plant species that could withstand and thrive in a waterfront coastal setting. Emulating the existing terrain was key, so the team made selections that resemble natural extensions of the dunes and native seaside plants. The developers purposefully left out unnatural divisions between the homes, such as fences and garages, to make space for communal areas like crushed shell paths that lead to 600 feet of private beach, visible from nearly every home.
“We incorporated front porches and pathways that wound around the neighboring homes on the way down to the beach,” says Brennan. “Our goal was to reinvigorate that community fabric by bringing back the coastal cottage as an architectural form, as well as a way of life.”
Project Heritage Sands
Location Dennis Port, Mass.
Architect Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, Providence, R.I.
Builder MS Ocean View, Dennis Port
Developer CapeBuilt Development, Amesbury, Mass.
Landscape Designer DeMelo Brothers, Marstons Mills, Mass.
Size 900 square feet to 1,350 square feet
Site Size 8 acres
Construction Cost $210 per square foot
