For more than a decade since its founding by two local mothers, Start at Zero (SAZ) has partnered with families to promote healthy early childhood development in Kansas City, Missouri. Grounded in the belief that parents and caregivers are a child’s most influential educators, the nonprofit provides comprehensive support that includes regular home visits to help families enhance their child’s learning and development, developmental screenings that identify learning needs and help families connect with specialists, and group-based education and peer learning, among other programs.
“Working with IFF allowed us to leverage their specialized real estate expertise so we could stay focused on our core mission. Their expertise in the feasibility analysis gave us the roadmap we needed, and having them as our owner’s representative allowed us to navigate unexpected construction hurdles while keeping our focus on the families we serve rather than the complexities of the buildout.”
In November, SAZ reached a major milestone by opening a newly renovated facility to house the organization’s Play Café, a Montessori-inspired space designed to support children’s cognitive, physical, and emotional development. While children engage in structured play, caregivers can connect over coffee, tea, and light meals served on-site, fostering the peer support networks essential for family stability. Families are able to purchase one-day passes or monthly memberships to access the Play Café, with prices intentionally set to maximize accessibility for all families at all income levels.
“Providing this space for the community ensures families have the consistent support they deserve to help their children thrive,” says Dr. Amanda Vega-Mavec, executive director of Start at Zero. “We’re excited to be able to provide a high-quality environment that allows us to deepen our holistic support in one central location.”
The support of IFF’s Real Estate Solutions team was instrumental in helping to bring the Play Café to fruition, first helping SAZ explore its facility options, quantify the ideal space needed to support its programming and operations, and define the cost of the project and its impact on the organization’s financial planning through a facility feasibility analysis completed in 2023. The team later served as the owner’s representative for the Play Café project, helping SAZ negotiate a lease with the property’s owner, managing project budgets and schedules, overseeing the construction process, and coordinating with the project architect to secure the necessary permits and the final certificate of occupancy.
“Working with IFF allowed us to leverage their specialized real estate expertise so we could stay focused on our core mission,” Dr. Vega-Mavec notes. “Their expertise in the feasibility analysis gave us the roadmap we needed, and having them as our owner’s representative allowed us to navigate unexpected construction hurdles while keeping our focus on the families we serve rather than the complexities of the buildout.”
Check out the new Play Café in the photo album below: