|
Exclusive Report: The Ford Ord Parcels of Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST)
As recently reported to Chamber members, Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) is reusing a long-dormant Fort Ord land parcel close to Highway 1 for public benefit. On June 28, 2025, Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) held a groundbreaking ceremony on the site for the SURF! Bus Rapid Transit Project.
MST acquired this 4.54 acre parcel (#L2.1) in 2007 with plans to use it as a transit center. On this site was a decayed Army structure: Building T-2058, built in 1941 (just before World War II) and last used by the Army as a food services administrative office before the base closed in 1994. In 2020, just before its dissolution, the now-defunct Ford Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) approved a bond issue for blight demolition, and MST used bond proceeds in 2022 to tear the building down. Now the 5th Street Station for the SURF! project will be built in its place.
Besides this parcel, MST owns four other Fort Ord parcels and has sought to acquire two more. It has also leased another parcel, but that lease is ending. These parcels are explained below.
A Stymied Plan for a Centralized MST Headquarters at the Edge of the Wilderness
On the far east side of the Main Garrison, MST owns two adjacent Fort Ord land parcels and has sought to obtain two more adjacent parcels. MST had planned to establish its administrative headquarters and a centralized bus maintenance and operations facility on these parcels, bundled with a proposed nearby business park called Whispering Oaks. Community opposition derailed the plan in the 2010s. Here’s the story on those four parcels:
In 2002 MST acquired a 1.60 acre parcel (#L2.4.3.1) within Seaside city limits on the southwest corner of Colonel Durham Street and 7th Avenue. An abandoned Fort Ord building on this site (Building P-4448, a Battalion Headquarters) is noteworthy for the 9th Infantry Regiment Unit Crest (“Keep Up the Fire”) painted on its south side. In 2023, discussions occurred regarding MST possibly selling this parcel to the City of Seaside. The parcel is located within the Campus Town Specific Plan area, and at the time the City of Seaside was seeking federal funds for a Fort Ord visitor center.
In 2003 MST acquired an adjacent 13.15 acre parcel (#L2.4.2) in unincorporated Monterey County. The parcel is bounded by Colonel Durham Street, Gigling Road, 7th Avenue, and 8th Avenue. MST has used the paved portion of this parcel for bus driver training and equipment storage.
MST sought from FORA a 24.22 acre parcel (#L2.3) and a 2.79 acre parcel (#L2.4.1) in unincorporated Monterey County, located southeast of the intersection of Colonel Durham Street and 8th Avenue, immediately south of the Joe Lloyd Way parcel that the Army still uses. Once used for training infantry troops, this empty land includes a trailhead into the Fort Ord National Monument. MST acknowledged in 2023 that “the potential to use the properties for a park and ride facility or for townhomes is unlikely to advance” because of several reasons, including “negative public sentiment.”
Two Park-and-Ride Parcels
MST acquired a 2.11 acre parcel (#L2.2.1) in 2004 and a 4.54 acre parcel (#L2.2.2) in 2009 near the Fort Ord Stockade, where Imjin Parkway intersects with Imjin Road. These parcels were designated for a Park-and-Ride.
Joe Lloyd Way
Joe Lloyd Way, to the east of 8th Avenue between B Street and Colonel Durham Street, is a land parcel that the Army retained on the edge of Fort Ord wilderness. From 2016 to 2025, MST leased a parking lot and structures here (including Building 4512, a general purpose warehouse) for an Operations and Maintenance Facility. However, the Army uses Joe Lloyd Way for other purposes such as vehicle storage and it is not renewing this lease.
MST has signed a lease for a new location at 271 Rianda Street in Salinas (near East Alisal Street and Highway 101) to use for small bus operations. Under these circumstances, it’s noteworthy that MST has expressed a possible interest in the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority property that was the former location of the Sun Street Transfer Station that operated from 2005 to 2022 in Salinas.
|
