Bright Horizons Brookline / photo by Shelly Harrison
Cambridge, MA – Kaplan Construction has completed its third child care center in Cambridge, Mass., and started the construction on the expansion of a center in Natick, Mass. for Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
Kaplan worked with Davis Square Architects of Somerville and StudioMLA of Brookline to complete this project. The project team also included structural engineer Summit Engineering of Portsmouth, N.H., and MEP engineer WB Engineers of Boston. DivcoWest is the landlord of the building.
Following a complete demolition of the building interior, Kaplan renovated the existing office building into a new 8,000sf early education and preschool that can accommodate up to 97 children ranging from infants to prekindergarten. In addition to the classrooms organized by age group, Kaplan created an enrichment center for ballet and the arts and a playground for infants and toddlers. The interior fit-out included removal and replacement of the structural slab, new finishes, upgraded MEP systems, and the installation of new windows and skylights.
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“The completion of the new Bright Horizons at Kendall Square is important to our community, as the revitalized learning environment provides a bright and friendly space to support the early education and child development for our families,” said Tony Gentile, senior vice president of real estate development for Bright Horizons Family Solutions. “Bright Horizons puts a lot of thought into creating centers that can foster individual learning and child development at every age, and Kaplan has always done a great job of keeping our projects on track. We look forward to continuing our work together on the upcoming expansion and renovation of our Natick center.
The new center at 286 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue in Kendall Square is the third successful collaboration for Kaplan and Bright Horizons.
Built in 1935 as a furniture factory and warehouse and formerly used as a laboratory, the original one-story building required extensive renovation to make it suitable as educational space. Kaplan removed the loading dock and steel mezzanine of the old building and backfilled the area to level the slab with the rest of the structure. Landscaping and new entrances were installed to brighten the approach, and a pathway was created behind the building to link the center’s new location with a neighboring pre-school playground. The drop-off/pick-up zone in the parking garage at Kendall Square was re-utilized for the center’s new location.
Bright Horizons Family Solutions® is a leading provider of early education and preschools, employer-sponsored child care, back-up care, educational advisory services and other work/life solutions.
