The Sisters rezoned the property through a partnership with the non-profit National Development Council, with a shared commitment to develop affordable senior housing. The steep slopes, wetlands, and an additional Scenic Hudson trail easement to the west limit the potential buildable area of the site. As a result, the senior residences are arranged in two clusters, each with two segments joined by a shared entrance lobby. At the north cluster, the building segments flank a south-facing courtyard with walking paths and scattered seating areas. The southern cluster of buildings is more linear, occupying the narrow area between a steep slope to the west and wetlands and trails to the east. The common lobby entrance opens on to an east-facing terrace with views down the wooded hill.

The Dominican Sisters of Sparkill purchased the Spaulding Estate and Mulford Estate in the Town of Saugerties, NY in the early 1930s as a vacation and retreat site for their members. For over 90 years, this Hudson Valley site has been known as the Villa St. Joseph, where it has provided respite for the Dominican Sisters, their colleagues, families, and friends. In 2010, born out of their care of the earth and commitment to land preservation, the Sisters established a conservation easement whereby Scenic Hudson, a regional land trust, cared for the land along the Hudson, expanding upon the existing trails and opening these to the public. In 2015, the Sisters sold 150 acres of the land along the riverfront to Scenic Hudson, now a hiking destination known as Falling Waters Preserve. Accepting that they are no longer able to use and enjoy the remaining 29 acres of their Saugerties property as they have in the past, they began to envision a future for the land in keeping with their mission of service to others and in response to the needs of the residents of the community of Saugerties. The sisters’ reflection and exploration led their membership to consider the development of affordable senior housing.