Overview:
The Berkeley Building–valued at $81,000–was sold for just $1 to the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation on Thursday as part of a downtown revitalization project
A local community organization got a pretty good deal from the City of Fresno this week to purchase a long-vacant downtown building.
The Fresno City Council and Fresno Revitalization Corporation both unanimously approved the sale of the Berkeley Building–valued at $81,000–for just $1 to the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation on Thursday.
The Berkeley Building is a two-story commercial building at the corner of Fulton and Kern streets that was built in 1960. The building “has been long vacant and suffers extensive water damage to the roof and interior” city documents read.
A proposal to convert the building into housing was struck down in 2022.
The new project, named “887 Fulton” by the FHAH, would repurpose and rehabilitate the ground floor into a food hub, and the second floor would be converted into office space.
“I think the goal is for all of us to have those buildings occupied as soon as possible,” said Fresno mayor Jerry Dyer during the hearing. “For me, to have a building continue to sit vacant for four years would not be a good idea, especially if we’re selling it for $1.”
City documents also show that the funding for the revitalization project will come from a $3 million US Economic Development Grant, “an in-kind match of $750,000 and FAHF equity.”
The sale includes an agreement to allow the FHAF six months to close the deal and 18 months to go through the city’s planning and permit process. The construction process is estimated to take about 24 months after that.
Dora Westerlund, CEO and president of the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation said they have big plans for the building.
“I will do my very best to develop, if given the opportunity by the council, to develop a retail, mixed-use site,” Westerlund said.
“We have a great working relationship with the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation,” Dyer said. “If there are any roadblocks that you come across, that you would notify us immediately…so that we can accelerate that project downtown.”
Chambers reach capacity during proclamations
Fresno City Hall was also uncharacteristically full at the start of Thursday morning’s meeting as dozens of Fresnans flocked to observe proclamations for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Immigrant Workers Day — the latter of which was renamed from its originally planned “International Workers Day” title on councilmember Miguel Arias’ request.
The Immigrant Workers Day proclamation was presented by Arias, who is himself a first-generation immigrant born in Michoacan, Mexico, and once worked in the “fields harvesting crops in the Central Valley.”
“Fresno is a place where the immigrant community is vibrant, strong, diverse,” Arias said.
Leonel Flores Bustamante, a member of the Coalición Primero De Mayo, said he hopes the American government will one day pass immigration reform for the immigrant community.
“Thousands like me…I couldn’t see my mom when she died…I couldn’t see my brother when he died of COVID,” Bustamante said. “Immigrants, they can’t go back to visit their family.
Councilmember Luis Chavez presented the proclamation from the city to recognize May as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Month. Chavez said the proclamation was “a recognition of the previous injustices” that local indigenous people have suffered.
“We still have work to do at the local level,” Chavez said. “We see that more recently when you still have certain folks that perceive and want to even use derogatory terms on associating geographical parts of our community.”
Tribal Elder Audrey Yo-Wis-Nuth Osborne from the Choinumni Yokuts, who also led the meeting’s invocation, said the recognition was important.
“As we move forward in our lives, we have to acknowledge what is going on in our communities nationwide with what is happening with the murdered indigenous women of our country,” Osborne said.
Councilmember Nelson Esparza also presented a proclamation for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to The Fresno Center, a local community organization that began as a resource for Southeast Asian refugees.
River West Project
The Fresno City Council also unanimously approved the city manager to accept $9.3 million in grant funding from the San Joaquin River Conservancy toward the River West project.
The River West project is a conservancy-led plan to extend Lewis S. Eaton Trail by about 2.5 miles over 500 acres of public land. The project, which has been in the works since 2017, has faced multiple delays and setbacks amid concerns over access to the public land.
Planning Commission gets new member
Linda Calandra was unanimously appointed to the planning commission.
Calandra has a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational development from Fresno Pacific University. Though now retired, her experience includes working at the Fresno County Public Library from 2006-2015, where she served as the executive director of the Foundation For Fresno County Public Library from 2012-2015.
Calandra also served as a city council member for northwest Fresno (District 2) from 1993-1997.
Calandra’s term appointment is scheduled to run until 2027.
A planning commission is made up of five or more individuals appointed by their local government who oversee and advise the city on matters that relate to planning and development. Though the commission is a common institution in local government, appointments to Fresno’s commission have received more scrutiny in recent years.
Jacqueline Gutierrez Lyday was controversially appointed in 2023. Arias sparked a public debate when he questioned whether Lyday–a real estate agent–would remain objective on real estate and land use issues.
Another controversial appointment was that of Brad Hardie — who is also president of Regency Property Management and RH Community Builders. Hardie, however, was not reappointed in 2022.
Hardie said stepping down from the commission was his own choice, and was motivated by his decision to spend more time with his family.
Hardie was forced to recuse himself from multiple votes during his time at the commission, which delayed committee matters. Last month, Hardie was appointed to the city’s Civil Service Board.
Calls for ceasefire in Gaza continue after recent assault
The meeting concluded with multiple Fresnans once again asking the City Council to pass a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, as other California cities have done in recent months.
Public comment has noticeably been moved to the end of Fresno City Council meetings beginning earlier this year. Though there is no rule that says when the council must hold this part of the meeting, some Fresnans — including those calling for a ceasefire — criticized the City Council for making it harder for residents and voters to speak out at City Hall.
Many of the calls for a ceasefire returned in response to an attack on multiple women for their support of Palestine during last week’s PorchFest event.
“This person should be charged with multiple hate crimes,” said public commenter Bob McCloskey. “Let’s protect the people of Fresno. Let’s not instigate more serious violence.”
