"Higher density areas that people do not seem to be in favor of." That is how Chairman Cross described the original vision for Windham's Village Center District and Market Square Overlay District at a September 23, 2026 Planning Board workshop. The board reached consensus to move forward on ballot language for those districts. Removing the Market Square overlay and "moving lines" in the Village Center were set aside for a later workshop.
For a buyer weighing Windham against Salem, Londonderry or Pelham, that workshop matters more than any price chart. Almost every smaller new home on Windham's horizon traces back to the rules of a single district. The Village Center is where the town lets builders put up two-bedroom townhouses and mixed-use buildings. How many of those get built in the next few years depends heavily on whether the district keeps its current shape.
The District Was Written to Produce One Kind of Home
Section 612 of the 2026 Windham Zoning Ordinance states the Village Center District's purpose plainly. The district is meant "to create a walkable, mixed-use center that has residential, commercial, historic and open landscaped pedestrian areas," and it "generally supports denser, mixed-use development including retail, office, and residential uses."
The housing rules are specific, and they decide what ends up on the market:
- Multi-unit buildings may hold up to 12 units, with "generally no more than two (2) bedrooms per unit and 1800 sq. ft. of living space."
- In buildings with six or more units, up to a third can be three-bedroom units of up to 2,200 sq. ft. For every two of those, the building must include one single one-bedroom unit of no more than 1,200 sq. ft.
- Retail is capped at 10,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area per business. Restaurants and bakeries are allowed without drive-thrus. Banks and pharmacies may have them.
- No new gas stations or auto repair garages are permitted.
Those caps are the mechanism. A builder in the Village Center can't make the numbers work with large detached homes, so the district produces townhouses and flats of a size Windham otherwise rarely builds. That is exactly the product a downsizer or a first-time Windham buyer is looking for. The town's Village Center District page has more background on the district itself.
What Those Caps Are Up Against in the Numbers
Windham's single-family market shows why that matters. According to New Hampshire Realtors' Windham local market update, the single-family median sale price in September 2026 was $999,999 across 19 closed sales, compared with $865,000 on 11 sales in September 2025. Year to date through September 2026, the median was $880,000 on 127 sales.
Supply was tight. In September 2026, Windham had 22 active single-family listings, about 1.5 months of supply. The median home took 22 days to sell, up from 8 days in September 2025.
NHAR's Windham report covers single-family homes only, so the closest comparison for smaller homes is the county. Across Rockingham County, the condo median was $515,250 on 126 closed sales in September 2026, and $510,000 year to date through September, per the NHAR monthly indicators.
Through September 2026, the county's typical condo sold for a little under 60 percent of Windham's year-to-date single-family median. A buyer who wants Windham at something closer to the county condo price needs attached or multi-unit homes, and the district Section 612 governs is where the town's zoning steers that housing. You can browse what's currently available on our Windham condos page.
The Projects Moving Along Indian Rock Road and Route 111
The district already has projects in motion, which is why its future lines matter now.
| Project | What's proposed or built | Status in the record |
|---|---|---|
| Village Center Place, by Village Center Properties | 8,700 sq. ft. retail building with three spaces | Completed April 2026. Two spaces were leased, and a 3,250 sq. ft. restaurant space with patio seating was available at the time, per Shopping Center Business |
| 21 Indian Rock Road and 1 North Lowell Road, Case 2025-21, Benchmark LLC | About 60 townhouses plus a retail building on a little over 5 acres | Preliminary hearing held and closed February 4, 2026 |
| 17 Indian Rock Road, Case 2026-28, The Dubay Group for Indian Rock and Lowell, LLC | Keep the historic buildings along Route 111 and add an office/services building at the rear | Preliminary site plan on the November 4, 2026 agenda |
The townhouse case shows how the district's rules shape a plan. According to the February 4, 2026 minutes, the applicant proposed three units per building with garages underneath, a road of about 1,500 feet, open space, and a planned connection to the town hall area. The applicant also told the board that 55-and-older housing is no longer allowed in the district as it once was. Water would come from Pennichuck through a private system, with an individual septic system for each unit. Board member Ballaya said securing water would be "a determining factor." Other board members pressed on traffic toward Hardwood and Eastwood Roads, bedroom counts, and buffers for neighbors, and a written comment suggested cutting the unit count.
The septic detail matters for anyone buying into the district later. Windham has no municipal sewer, so a townhouse there sits on its own regulated system, the same issue we covered in our post on how septic shapes a Windham home sale.
The Dubay plan at 17 Indian Rock Road builds on what's already rising there. The agenda describes the new office building as using "the same footprint as Building C, currently under construction." It would connect to that building through walkways, plaza areas and parking, with a walkway to the historic buildings along Route 111.
Nearby, the Union Leader reported on October 30, 2026 that O'Shea's Caife & Tae, which has locations in Londonderry and Amherst, plans a third café for Spring 2027. It will be in a building under construction at the corner of Route 111 and Hardwood Road.
Why the Board Took Up the District's Lines in September
At the September 23 workshop, the board noted that the underlying zoning beneath the overlays is Professional Business and Technology. Removing an overlay would revert the land to that base zone. Chairman Cross said he would like the zones simplified. Vice Chair Gattinella wanted ballot language clear enough that voters understand what they are voting on, and the board discussed naming the location in the ballot wording. Member Partington opposed changing the Village Center or Market Square because both have already been partly developed.
Water came up at the same meeting. The town would spend $400,000 to double the usage allowed through its waterline. The minutes record a concern that the added capacity would go to new development rather than existing homes. Members discussed limits, including a cap of 10 percent of the allotment per user so that one large apartment building couldn't take up a large share. About half of the current allotment is in use, and Trail Crossing, Trail's Edge, Cyr Lumber and Bissell Camp are among the areas already tied in.
Smaller homes in Windham depend on both. The zoning permits them in a defined area. Water capacity decides how many that area can support. Both questions were before the same board in the same fall. "Potential zoning amendments for 2027 Town Meeting" was listed as an agenda item for the November 4, 2026 Planning Board meeting.
Where Smaller Homes Show Up Outside the District
The Village Center isn't the only place smaller units are being proposed. The October 21, 2026 agenda lists Case 2026-27, a preliminary plan from Benchmark Engineering LLC for 16, 20 and 24 Rockingham Road. It proposes 71 apartments, 31 one-bedroom and 40 two-bedroom, in three buildings, with retail and office space on the first floor of the largest building. That site is zoned Commercial District A, along the Route 28 corridor, under different rules from the Village Center's Section 612.
The town's fee schedule shows how Windham prices these housing types differently. The November 4 agenda included a public hearing on a proposed 3.7 percent increase to impact fees, tied to the 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index. The proposed school fee would rise from $11,583.43 to $12,012.02 for a new single-family home, and from $4,027.49 to $4,176.51 for other dwellings, excluding 55+ age-restricted units. Proposed public safety fees run $1,688.87 for a detached single-family home, $1,216.91 for a townhouse, and $1,087.36 per unit in buildings with three or more units.
Builders pay these fees up front, and they become part of the cost basis behind a new home's price. Under the proposed schedule, a new townhouse would carry about $5,400 in combined school and public safety fees, compared with about $13,700 for a new detached house. That gap is one reason attached housing pencils out where the zoning allows it. For more on how new homes move from approval to closing, see our step-by-step guide to buying new construction in Windham.
A Few Common Questions
Can a 55+ community be built in the Village Center District? According to the February 2026 Planning Board minutes, the applicant for the Indian Rock Road townhouses told the board that 55-and-older housing is no longer allowed in the district as it once was. Section 612 lists the uses that are permitted.
How large can a new Village Center home be? Generally two bedrooms and 1,800 sq. ft. Up to a third of the units in larger buildings can be three-bedroom homes of up to 2,200 sq. ft., subject to the one-bedroom pairing rule in Section 612.2.1.
Will voters decide on any change? The September 23 minutes describe the board drafting ballot language and discussing naming the location in the ballot so voters understand it. The November 4 agenda lists potential zoning amendments for the 2027 Town Meeting.
This post is general information about public zoning records and proposed fees. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, so confirm how any rule applies to your situation with the right professional.
If you're downsizing in Windham or looking for a first Windham home below the single-family median, the timing of the Village Center projects and the 2027 Town Meeting ballot can shape your options. The team at DiPietro Group Real Estate follows these Planning Board cases as they move. Schedule a free buyer or seller consultation and we'll walk you through what's approved, what's proposed, and what's for sale today.
