Boston – Cresa recently announced that it provided a full suite of project management services to its client, Just A Start in Cambridge. The project supported the development of Just A Start’s new headquarters, consolidating multiple programs and services under one roof. Just A Start’s new offices are located at 430 Rindge Avenue, featuring 22,000sf of office, classrooms, workshops, and laboratory spaces.
For more than 50 years, Just A Start has focused on meeting the fundamental needs of individuals and families who have been systematically denied opportunities to realize their full potential. Its programs include affordable housing, education and job training, and comprehensive support services, spanning Cambridge and beyond.
Just A Start engaged Cresa’s project management team to oversee multiple phases of this project, which gives the nonprofit a central hub for the first time in its history. Cresa was engaged to organize and streamline the many different services, vendors, and activities involved in such a project, along with managing the myriad requirements attached to constructing a space with offices, a bio lab, an IT lab, and a woodshop. Cresa was retained to coordinate the design and construction of the HQ office space and the installation of furniture, fixtures, and IT and AV equipment, and also facilitated Just A Start’s multi-phased relocation to occupy the new building.
“Working with the Cresa team gave us an incredible amount of peace of mind knowing we could concentrate on serving a population that depends on us every day for a wide range of services,” said Carl Nagy-Koechlin, executive director, Just A Start. “When you have such a major transition in a nonprofit organization, it’s essential to have a partner who can manage everything from furniture selection to permitting. They were truly in our corner.”
“At Cresa, we see every client as a true extension of our own team, so we embrace their challenges as our own,” said Amy Braun, principal, Cresa Project Management. “Just A Start is an incredibly powerful organization that punches above its weight, and is relied upon by so many in Cambridge and throughout Massachusetts. We were thrilled to help them start this latest chapter in their incredible history.”
