6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 8-14, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS For over a decade, the Gonzales Youth Council has advocated for a dedicated teen space and on Saturday, Jan. 10 it will become a reality: The City of Gonzales will open the first phase of the Dennis & Janice Caprara Community Center Complex. “Gonzales didn’t have a lot of spaces where the public, much less youth, can gather and do homework and school projects,” City Manager Carmen Gil says, noting that many teens regularly meet at McDonald’s or Starbucks. The first phase includes the teen center, a courtyard, an amphitheater and a new home for Monterey County Free Libraries’ Gonzales branch. “The beauty of it is it’s adjacent to the library,” says Mayor Jose Rios, noting the teen center is also close to schools. Youth will have access to internet, printers and computers. The space will also offer various youth development programming from organizations including Olinga Learning, a nonprofit that empowers youth in rural areas to improve their communities, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County. “It’s definitely going to transform the community,” Gil says. “It’s going to offer a safe space where they can drop in and engage in programs that weren’t available to them.” The $28 million project was funded with various sources including the city’s Measure X; $5 million from the state; $1.8 million from the County of Monterey; and private donations. It was built on a city-owned property at Gavilan Court and Fifth Street, near Fairview Middle School. Now that the first phase is completed, the city will focus on the second phase which includes a community hall, meeting rooms, fitness center and commercial kitchen. City Center Gonzales opens its first community center, including a space for teens and a branch library. By Celia Jiménez At first glance, three old Army buildings on the former Fort Ord are just derelict structures. A two-story building offers views through cracked windows. Buckets catch rainwater coming in through the roof. Piles of donated mattresses are stacked in one room. But to Peter Kambas, chair of the Fort Ord Hostel Society, this is the site of a dream for the future. He can imagine visitors from all over the world mingling in a shared kitchen, bicyclists hitting the trails on the national monument just outside, and guests visiting CSU Monterey Bay. As a decades-long volunteer at hostels in Monterey and Santa Cruz, he says he has seen firsthand the benefits. “It could really promote the concept of world peace, if people connect on a one-to-one basis,” Kambas says. The dream of transforming this 4.6-acre, city-owned parcel into a hostel has been nearly 20 years in the making. It started officially with a 30-year lease in 2008 from Seaside to the Central California Chapter of the American Youth Hostels, which paid $1 a year and planned to develop a 120-room hostel. After the national organization consolidated and shifted its focus—they built a new hostel in New Orleans—in 2017 the lease was transferred to Fort Ord Hostel Society, a local nonprofit. Kambas comes from Santa Cruz most Saturdays to work on the property. Progress is slow, but one building was rehabilitated sufficiently to sublease to 6th Avenue Studios, supporting musical and other creative pursuits. The property is flanked by the 122-acre Campus Town development that has broken ground, and stands to transform northern Seaside from abandoned Army property into hundreds of new residential units and a hotel. When Kambas first saw grading equipment on the hostel property one Saturday, he thought it might be a mistake. But it turns out that as the city moves forward, envisioning a park next to Campus Town, officials are done waiting for the Hostel Society to make progress. On Dec. 12, Seaside City Attorney Sheri Damon sent a letter to Kambas terminating the lease effective Dec. 31. She cited, among other things, insufficient liability insurance, the sublease, and unaddressed hazardous materials including flaking lead paint. The hostel group’s attorney, Alex Lorca, disputes many of these findings and responded with a cease-anddesist letter to Damon. City officials declined to speak in detail about the termination notice because it involves generally confidential matters of potential litigation and real estate, but in an email, City Manager Greg McDanel notes “a longstanding lack of sufficient progress.” The city is open to negotiating alternate locations. “It really is time for Seaside to move forward,” City Councilmember Alex Miller says. “We can’t make decisions on hopes and dreams. We have to have concrete plans where people can perform. After 17 years, how much longer can we wait?” Kambas is hopeful they can buy some time, noting the lease lasts until 2038. He’s discouraged that fundraising efforts might need to shift to covering legal expenses instead of hostel design and construction, but remains optimistic about the future. “I think the project is an asset to the city,” he says. “Everything was going fine until this happened.” Peter Kambas on the property that the nonprofit Fort Ord Hostel Society leases from the City of Seaside, at 6th Avenue and Col. Durham Street. Slow Build After 17 years, City of Seaside moves to terminate nonprofit hostel society’s lease. By Sara Rubin Residents participated in the process of developing the community center, including weighing in on design elements like color and furniture. “After 17 years, how much longer can we wait?” SARA RUBIN LUIS FLORES, HARRIS & ASSOCIATES
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