The HistoryMakers

Cruz Construction Company president John Bert Cruz, III was born on May 7, 1943 in Wareham, Massachusetts. His parents John B. Cruz, Jr. and Madeline Martin Cruz were the children of first generation emigrants from the Cape Verde Islands, off the Northwest coast of Africa. Descended from whale harpooners, Cruz's grandfather John B. Cruz, Sr. was a prohibition era business associate of Joseph P. Kennedy. Living with his mother until he was twelve, Cruz attended school in Wareham, Massachusetts, Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York. Cruz worked alongside his father as a carpenter in Boston in 1956. Completing Patrick T. Campbell Junior High School, Cruz graduated from Boston Technical High School in 1962. He then enrolled in Wentworth Institute and completed his studies in business administration.

Teaming with his father's carpentry business, Cruz took care of the administrative work as superintendent and estimator of jobs. Significant growth led to the two going into the general contracting business with the formation of John B. Cruz Construction Company in 1969. In 1970, Cruz was bonded and accepted his first general contracting job. Mentored by Dennis Blackett, Cruz completed Taurus Apartments, an affordable housing project in 1973. Attending the Minority Developers Executive Training Program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cruz gained the acumen necessary to build over 1,500 units of housing and to specialize in build-to-suit projects. By 1983, Cruz was building between 300 and 400 units annually, managing a workforce of over 2,000, and managing apartments. The company has provided general contracting services for various Boston area projects including The Fortress, Council Towers, Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Institute Laboratory Research Institute, Boston Police Department Headquarters, Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Prang House, and Prang Estates. Cruz has handled jobs as large as $17 million as a general contractor and $150 million working with other companies. In 1989, Cruz developed a $36 million, 463 unit project.

As an active member of the Contractors Association of Boston and the National Association of Minority Contractors, Cruz has joined with Smoot, Moody, McKissack and other black firms to fight for legislation to ensure parity for minority contractors. Cruz is committed to developing Cape Verdean and other minority contractors and to staying and working in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He established the John B. Cruz Bridgewater State University Scholarship in his father's name.

Cruz was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 11, 2007.