At first glance, the real estate and capital planning function at a large human services nonprofit may seem like a behind-the-scenes operation. Yet inside Ascentria Care Alliance, one of New England’s largest community service organizations, this work is central to the company’s future growth. For April Kelly, chief of real estate and capital planning, every square foot is part of a larger mission to help people rise beyond life’s challenges and thrive physically, intellectually, socially, spiritually and economically.
April Kelly | Ascentria Care Alliance | Chief of Real Estate & Capital Planning
Ascentria operates more than 60 locations across five states, supporting individuals and families through senior care, mental health services, language access, nutrition programs, disability support, adoption services, education, transportation and refugee resettlement. The organization envisions communities where belonging, well-being and hope take root despite the difficulty of the moment. That mission is guiding a bold new chapter as Ascentria expands its footprint in senior care and senior living, an area Kelly believes is essential to the organization’s continued impact.
Kelly joined Ascentria in 2021, initially as chief of staff, but with deep experience in construction management, real estate and consulting, she quickly found herself leading the real estate and capital planning side of the house. Long before her official title change, she was already overseeing lease negotiations, managing capital projects, evaluating properties and helping shape the organization’s approach to growth. As she put it, “the organization needed someone to be leading our capital improvements and development at a higher level,” ensuring that the long-term strategy connected seamlessly to day-to-day decision-making.
Her new position could not come at a more pivotal moment. The organization has recently affiliated with Worcester-based Goddard Homestead, a nonprofit rooted in senior care and senior living, an expansion that the Ascentria team has already staffed up to support. Kelly sees it as a natural extension of Ascentria’s mission and a powerful opportunity to integrate the services that make the organization unique. The demographic data reinforces that urgency.
At a recent industry conference, Kelly learned that adults 65 or older accounted for 18 percent of the population in 2024, and that share is projected to rise to 23 percent by 2050. For her, these figures are not abstract. They are a reminder that Ascentria must think several decades ahead. If buildings today are expected to last more than 100 years, they must be designed not only for the current generation of seniors but also for those who will emerge long after.
“If you build it for what this population really needs by spending the time to stop and think about what will help seniors thrive not only now but in the future, you will build a different senior living development with community in mind, and that will be a competitive advantage,” she notes.
That competitive advantage, she believes, will come from blending Ascentria’s established human services strengths with an elevated, innovative approach to senior living.
Bringing services, community & purpose under one roof
The expansion into senior living is not about creating isolated communities, but rather deeply connected to Ascentria’s long-standing philosophy of holistic care. The organization operates a robust network of programs that support individuals at all stages of life, including nutrition assistance, transportation, language interpretation, developmental disability services and mental health programs. These offerings, she and the organization believe, can be woven directly into senior living settings to create meaningful value.
Transportation could offer mobility and independence. Nutrition programs could connect seniors with healthy meal planning. The Language Bank program could ensure access to communication for multilingual residents. Even workforce education could play a role, creating partnerships with colleges for training or intergenerational learning opportunities.
This integrated approach reflects a simple question the team continues to ask. What would need to be in a senior living community that would create a true sense of belonging, integration with the community and the realization that they are part of something bigger, ensuring that their purpose continues?
One example Kelly uses is the possibility of farm-to-table features and community gardens. Seniors could grow vegetables, learn new culinary skills or simply take a walk through the gardens to enjoy moments of calm and connection. Purpose, she notes, is as essential to health as any physical amenity.
“Those are the conversations we are having right now,” she says.
A new vice president of senior living, Kristine Binette, and a chief of strategic business development, Andrew Freilich, both with deep senior living experience, have recently joined Ascentria, giving Kelly strong partners as the expanded team plans these developments. They attend conferences together, examine industry trends, and evaluate best practices that can make Ascentria’s future communities both competitive and mission-aligned.
As Kelly emphasizes, “A solid strategy is more important now than ever.”
A new headquarters sets the stage for collaboration
The organization’s physical growth extends beyond senior living. After operating in temporary or improvised spaces during and after the pandemic, Ascentria recently moved into a new 24,615-square-foot headquarters in the fall, aptly named “The Lighthouse at Ascentria”. Located among a cluster of other nonprofits, the site offers shared amenities and new possibilities for collaboration.
Kelly’s team oversaw the negotiations, design, and fit-out of the space, including the creation of an event space for community gatherings, partner functions and educational programs, while designing with the future growth of the organization in mind. Classroom spaces were expanded, and the entire layout was designed with flexible space for expanded functionality. The organization had long outgrown its previous client center and needed a workspace that reflected its evolution.
Walking through the new offices, Kelly sees evidence of a culture shift she has worked hard to help shape. People collaborate across teams. Community groups come in and out. Strategic planning feels grounded in the operational reality of an organization that continues to grow.
Along with two potential new developments in the future, three additional construction projects are already in design, and scheduled to break ground this year. Kelly manages these alongside a regional manager for leased properties, a regional manager for owned properties and a senior construction project manager. Her job is to operate at the strategic level, ensuring leadership has the information needed to make sound long-term decisions.
Shaping her career around purpose & impact
Kelly’s path to leading Ascentria’s real estate and capital planning efforts was shaped by a diverse and unconventional career. She began in project management in 1993, later founded and ran her own consulting firm for nearly decade and earned degrees in architecture and construction management, along with her MBA. She also spent ten years teaching business technology, an experience that strengthened her skills in mentorship, communication and meeting people where they are.
She carries those lessons with her in her work today.
“When you learn to really lean in and meet people where they are, it helps direct your human-centered mindset in all that you do,” Kelly explains.
Her early experiences in construction, nonprofit project management and community-driven development gave her a clear sense of which projects matter most. Through work with the YMCA and other mission-focused organizations, she discovered how rewarding it was to build spaces that support families, education and health.
That clarity continues to guide her at Ascentria. Every senior living design meeting, each real estate negotiation, every construction project in the hopper connects to a deeper purpose. She often emphasizes that buildings should not only meet today’s needs but also anticipate tomorrow’s. At Ascentria, that means thoughtful design and planning that support seniors and communities while also integrating the services that help individuals and families thrive.
The stakes are high, but the opportunity is enormous. The senior population is growing. Community needs are changing. Expectations are rising. And Ascentria, grounded in courage, compassion, dedication, resilience and integrity, is choosing to lean in rather than pull back.
Kelly sees her role as both a builder and a connector, linking Ascentria’s long history of human services with a future where seniors and communities are supported not only by housing but by a full ecosystem of care.
“There have never been boring days,” she says.
And for an organization determined to help people faced with systemic barriers to rise above life’s challenges, that energy is exactly what growth demands.
As nonprofit and community care organizations like Ascentria Care Alliance expand services, they increasingly depend on HR & nonprofit workforce development staffing support to recruit, retain, and manage mission-driven talent for long-term impact.
