Moving day can be stressful. Despite the excitement of new surroundings, the sparkle of fresh paint and the anticipation of finally being settled, there are still a lot of boxes to be opened, a lot of grunt work to be completed, and a whole lot of cleaning to tackle.

That’s how staff and volunteers of Cornerstone Associates were feeling Tuesday as they moved into their brand new 3,000-square-foot community access building.

As Executive Director Nancy Maxwell wandered from one butter-yellow room to another, she was nearly jumping with excitement.

“The music room will be here, and the pottery room is here,” she said, walking back and forth. “It’s an empty room now, but you can envision it, I know you can.”

In January 2006, a fire destroyed part of the building used by Cornerstone for a variety of programs, as well as storage space, and a lot of the nonprofit’s belongings, including a new kiln. Insurance money, in addition to some grant funds, helped Cornerstone take that tragedy and turn it into a brand-new building on its property on Crystal Lake Drive in South Corvallis that will help the organization better serve its developmentally disabled adult clients.

“We’ve got a shower, washer and dryer, dishwasher, all things we didn’t have before,” Maxwell said.

The new building has 14 windows, a big change from the space Cornerstone has been using to operate some of its art and exercise programs. A staff member from Fitness Over 50 will be teaching a fitness class in the building twice a week, and community volunteers will be running art and music programs for clients, most of whom also work in one of Cornerstone’s many businesses, which range from Taylor Street Ovens to B&J Bookbinding.

The community access building will serve around 30 clients a week, and will also provide space for occasional community events as well. Clients will get to see their new digs today during a special luncheon, and Maxwell hopes they’ll ease gently into their transition to the new space.

For many of Cornerstone’s clients, change can be scary, even when it’s to a beautiful new space.

“The whole reason we’re here is to make our clients’ lives better,” said David Gilbert, Cornerstone development director. “Look at the cave we’ve been in since the fire.”

On Tuesday, four freshman volunteers from the Oregon State University fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon helped move brand-new lockers into the building, and set up furniture and did whatever else they were asked to help get the place in order. Public service is part of the requirement of being an SAE member.

“I don’t think any of us are from Corvallis, so it gets us involved with Corvallis,” said fraternity member Brandon Fassiotto.

Gilbert, a former SAE member, pointed out that the fraternity’s symbol is a phoenix, which he thought appropriate, since the new Cornerstone building was itself rising from the ashes. The project faced a lot of hurdles, including the usual laborious process of permits and construction, and Cornerstone executives received a lot of help from Gerding Construction as they learned to navigate the system.

“We took devastation and turned it into a major positive in two years,” he said. “And we had to battle every step of the way.”