Overview:
Community members in Fresno's South Tower District have seen a long-vacant factory building as having potential for a community oriented service.
A new, “ambitious” plan was announced Thursday hoping to do just that.
The long-vacant Central Valley Cheese factory building is set to become the new headquarters of Fresno-based public radio station Radio Bilingüe, an early step in a plan to transform the lot into a South Tower District community hub. The “ambitious” plans were announced at a news conference Thursday at the factory building.
Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias opened the news conference by promoting the project as “forward-looking,” and a path toward change for the city’s Belmont corridor – an area largely housed by local industrial facilities.
Arias also said the plan would reduce truck traffic in Tower District neighborhoods, an issue residents have complained about for years.
“By converting this to the headquarters of Radio Bilingüe,” Arias said, “it will allow the truck traffic that has been coming into the residential neighborhood to now be relocated.”
The abandoned near-century-old, 12,000-square-foot terracotta-colored building sits on an acre of land on Belmont Avenue, between North Ferger and North Roosevelt Avenues. It will become the Radio Bilingüe Public Media And Culture Center in this community preservation and revitalization project.
Shehadey Family Foods has owned the building, which has been the subject of much discussion during Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee meetings by advocates who hoped to see the building transform into a community-oriented service.
Scott Shehadey, CEO of SFF, said at the news conference Thursday the Shehadey Family has donated the land and plans to chip in a financial contribution to the project as well.
A spokesperson for SFF told Fresnoland that the group is working with Radio Bilingüe on the amount to be donated.
Arias said the project will need about $10 million in funding to become fully realized. Along with the financial commitment from SFF, the project has also secured $2 million in state funds through California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula.
Arias also said the project is eligible for Measure P funding, as well as investments from the city. The city has invested money in other community-oriented projects in the past, including a $200,000 grant toward the African American Historical And Cultural Museum Of The San Joaquin Valley in May.
Arias added that he sees public funding allocated toward business projects like this as a form of “investment” toward community revitalization – citing Arte Americas Museum and Tower Theatre as examples.
Radio Bilingüe’s current headquarters is at 5005 East Belmont Ave. The move will position the news station in “the heart of the Tower District” where it plans to also be a community event space.
Radio Bilingüe’s Co-Director and Founder Hugo Morales said that the move was “unexpected” but welcome. After spending two decades headquartered in downtown Fresno, Morales said the radio station hopes to move “as soon as possible.”
Morales also said the project is “extremely ambitious.” He said the radio station will look to get input from the community as the process moves along on how to best serve the area.
“This is their home,” Morales said. “This is a historic neighborhood and community, and Radio Bilingüe wants to be a good neighbor.”
No definitive timeline for the project’s completion was shared at the news conference. Arias said the initial assessment for the project should take about a year. After that, proposals would likely be sent to the Fresno City Council for approval.
Jose Moran, Radio Bilingüe’s Deputy director of broadcasting, added at the news conference that the space will present the community with multiple opportunities for community engagement.
“We’ll train new generations of young people and community volunteers,” Moran said. “We’ll create space for public forums and town hall meetings so community members can voice their concerns and collaborate on solutions with local leaders. We are a multilingual radio; How about celebrating the diversity of the community through cultural events that showcase music, art, food and traditions from different backgrounds.”
Moran also joked that the future ribbon cutting ceremony will aim to be more lively than Thursday’s news conference.
“I hope you could also join us for our groundbreaking and eventually our ribbon cutting ceremonyy.” Moran said. “We’ll bring the mariachi, music and the burritos next time.”
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