Parents who sent their children to the Yavneh Day School there grumbled about the cracks in the ceiling and the shabby rooms; other organizations in the complex lodged similar protests.

There is little left to complain about now. All that remains of the school is rubble. Torn down last week, the former JCC building will become the site of an ambitious development, focused on bringing services together for the Jewish community.

Known as the Gloria and Ken Levy Family Campus, the nine-acre property located at 14855 Oka Road will house several Jewish organizations in a state-of-the-art, 116,000-square-foot building.

Speaking at the demolition ceremony on April 1 was Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, who was the governor of California in 1981 when the campus was used as a helicopter base during the Mediterranean fruit fly crisis.

As an unscheduled helicopter flew overhead, Brown noted that the Medfly was the "beginning of the end for me," noting it was when "Gov. Moonbeam" started.

Brown also highlighted the importance of the development toward creating stronger communities and families.

"As a secularist, I came here realizing the power of tradition and faith," he said. "That is what builds the family."

Scheduled for completion in 2005, the new campus will include a preschool with 10 classrooms plus three infant and toddler rooms, a new Yavneh Day School with classrooms wired for Internet capability, an art gallery showcasing Jewish culture, a cafe and a teen lounge.

The campus will also be home to a 500-seat performing arts venue and an 8,000-square-foot gymnasium.

"This will allow us to serve the whole person," said Ruth Fletcher, president of the Addison-Penzak JCC. "Until now, it has really been focused on preschool families and the elderly."

Members of the Jewish community said that there is a great demand for this type of development.

"I know why it's happening here: we need it badly," said San Jose resident Ginny Siegler.

Siegler said she has seen the Jewish population in the South Bay grow rapidly over the past two decades, overflowing current facilities. Siegler is a member of the JCC; she often played tennis at the now-demolished Los Gatos location.

Ken Levy, for whom the campus is partially named, agreed.

"There are a lot of organizations that do terrific work here, and the facilities are terrible," he said. Levy and his wife, Gloria, have lived in Saratoga since 1971 and said that the decision to build the campus in Los Gatos was also very important.

"Now my grandchildren can be a part of this, because they live here, too," Gloria Levy said.

Projects like this are in development all over the Bay Area. The JCC recently opened a newly renovated center in San Francisco and has proposed plans for a place in Palo Alto. Several new schools with a Jewish-centric focus have also opened recently in the area.

"There is a real renaissance going on," said Brett Borah, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose.

Funding for the $22 million campus was made possible through private donations, with $13.6 million having been raised so far.

Organizers behind the project insist that the center will not be exclusive to the Jewish community, but will provide a benefit to the greater Los Gatos and Saratoga areas.

"This is a huge step forward for both the Jewish community and the Los Gatos community; it gives them venues that they didn't have and that they need," said Borah.

In particular, the 500-seat auditorium will be used as a community theater, and the fields and exercise facility will be open to all.