City OKs Plan for Boys and Girls Club

The Capistrano Valley Boys and Girls Club recently received City Council approval to begin building an 11,000-square-foot headquarters, including a 5,000-square-foot youth activities room.

“This can give San Juan Capistrano the chance to have the best youth-services facility in the county after years of it really lacking in that area,” said James L. Williams, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club.

The club still needs to raise about $1.7 million for the clubhouse, and is planning to kick off an official fund-raising campaign in October. The group so far has raised $485,000 and has additional pledges, Williams said.

Before June, officials said they could afford to build only a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse, with a 1,000-square-foot youth room.

But a $100,000 donation from the Junior League of Orange County California Inc. and a $300,000 anonymous contribution allowed the club to expand its plans.

“This is the best cooperation between a city and a nonprofit organization I’ve ever seen,” said Ken Friess, past president of the Boys and Girls Club board.

For eight years, club organizers, operating from a building on Camino Capistrano, have struggled to find a permanent home for their after-school activities for local children.

The club’s headquarters will be an extension of the city’s $6-million Community Center, at Camino del Avion and Alipaz Street.

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Youth Complex

San Juan Capistrano City Council approved construction of a new Boys and Girls Club next to the city’s Community Center, which is under construction.