The Cresset Group, developers of the Bulfinch Hotel and the 1850 condominiums, are now pushing ahead with Liberty Wharf, a 74,000-square-foot, mixed- use project on the former site of Jimmy’s Harborside. Cresset Group president Edward Nardi calls the $30 million development, one of the few projects still moving forward in Boston, “A one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build in the harbor.”

Nardi didn’t always see himself as a developer, though. He trained as an architect, then worked as an engineer for a general contractor. “I generally understood some of the design concepts, I understood how you put it together in the field, but I wondered who’s orchestrating how it gets there, what’s the business behind it? Ultimately, that was an intriguing question in my mind. That was the natural next step.”

Edward Nardi

Title: President, Cresset Group, Boston
Experience: 26 Years
Age: 49

How would you describe what Cresset does, and what makes you different in Boston?

Our singular aspiration is to be very good local real estate developers. We’re comfortable in our skin doing that. I think that’s a little different than some folks out there, who over the past few years saw opportunity in raising private equity funds. While that’s certainly a viable route to go, we felt that staying closer to the business, which is the hands-on real estate aspect of it, would serve us better over the long term.

You’ve said before that the size of the Liberty Wharf project is what makes it able to proceed now.

That’s right. Look, if somebody’s going to build a 30-story tower on the property, if it’s a $200 million project, that’s not what we do. And in today’s economy, it’s very, very difficult to make projects over $50 million move ahead. Sovereign Bank, our lender, was smart in the sense that they required us to have a fair amount of pre-leasing.

Does the location drive the leasing, which then enables the financing?

To a large degree, it does. It’s as simple as saying, we’re not even near the water; we’re in the water. It makes it a very special site.

What’s the decision-making process like in terms of scaling a project that has to go through Chapter 91?

It’s all about getting it done at the right basis. We decided that we’d stay within a certain design envelope and try to move ahead with the project, versus trying to add some additional height or square-footage and maybe get a little more tied up in permitting. You have to pick what you think is the best path. And, ultimately, getting it done is the bottom line.

How do you, as a developer, plan for the next year or two, given how deep and widespread the downturn has been?

For the properties we’re involved with today, it’s awful hard to drive the income. The market and the comps will dictate what tenants look for. The first thing to do is pay attention to the expense side and wring out all the expenses. As far as looking forward and asking what’s out there, how can we continue to grow our business? We’re looking at a couple properties now. If the basis is below reproduction cost, and it’s a good asset, I don’t think we have to wait for the final round of distress.

People seem to be waiting for all the dominoes to fall, and we haven’t seen that happen yet.

If all everybody does is sit around and wait – and there’s a lot of cash on the sidelines – I don’t know if, at the end of the day, if it fundamentally makes a big difference if you’re buying something a few dollars cheaper a year from now. There are some opportunities starting to kick around the marketplace that will be fundamentally good buys, long term. I talk to groups every day waiting for the blood in the water, and that’s fine. We’d rather be a little more proactive, and if we [hit] a nice single or a double, that’s just fine.

Top five learning experiences:

1.) Liberty Wharf. It’s the most interesting project I’ve ever worked on.

2.) The Bulfinch Hotel. That was our first in-town hotel. It’s a small project, a flatiron design. We added three stories to it.

3.) Essex Hotel redevelopment. I worked on it back in the mid-’80s. It was an eye-opening experience, a fascinating experience.

4.) Downturn of the early-’90s. It was an instrumental part of my education, seeing a significant downturn, and really learning how to survive in that downturn.

5.) Work with good people. To be boring, but honest, you’re only as good as the people you work with.