Zone for Rebirth

Weeks after the city evicted the Zona del Sol nonprofit constortium from its Southside building on Jaguar Drive, city officials are now figuring out how to fill the empty space.

City Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, who represents the area, says he’d like to see a center dedicated to teens somewhere in the 5.4 acres of city land in the Tierra Contenta subdivision where Zona operated for eight years. As first reported in SFR, the city terminated its lease with Zona last month for the nonprofit’s inability to provide enough community services in the Southside building.

Dominguez wants to see "a safe place that welcomes all youth" in the area—a vision that stems from feedback he's heard during community events in his district. Kids there, he says, have long expressed interest in a teen center that is easy to walk to and has tutoring and leisure options.

"Generally speaking, they just want a place to hang out," Dominguez says.

Last week, he and city councilors Bill Dimas, Chris Rivera, Patti Bushee and Peter Ives dropped a resolution calling on city staff to adopt a plan for building a teen center in the city. Dominguez says the Zona area is an ideal site, given that the Southside represents 40 percent of the city's youth.

The resolution is scheduled to be heard in the city Public Works Committee on Feb. 23. A public hearing on the matter before the entire City Council is tentatively set for April 8.

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