What's at stake?
The city began a $22 million project that will replace or rehabilitate 15,325 feet of water mains and 8,905 feet of sewer mains as part of the city’s larger efforts to revitalize the Chinatown and downtown areas.
City and state officials commemorated the first step in Fresno’s downtown and Chinatown infrastructure revitalization on Wednesday, paving the way for the future modernization of the area.
Mayor Jerry Dyer, joined by both city and state officials, marked the official start of the city’s Water and Sewer Infrastructure Project, which will replace sewer and water mains in the downtown and Chinatown area.
“You cannot lift up your downtown without lifting up Chinatown,” Dyer said, adding “some of the water mains [and] sewer mains are as old as 1934 when they were put into the ground; they need to be replaced.”
The project is just one of multiple phases in the effort to revitalize Fresno’s downtown/Chinatown area, with the ultimate goal of creating a community where up to 75,000 people can live.
Dyer’s aim of 10,000 residents is the goal set in place to create momentum to eventually create a vibrant downtown community with more green space, parking structures and walkability while also accommodating for the future high-speed rail station.
This first infrastructure project will replace or rehabilitate 15,325 linear feet of water mains and 8,905 feet of sewer mains. According to Dyer, both sewer and water mains will be replaced “one block at a time,” with each block expected to take two weeks to complete.
Brock Buche, director of Public Utilities, mentioned that just the downtown area alone has $160 million in need for infrastructure and the modernization of the area’s sewer and water mains is part of the city’s commitment to revitalize it.
“This project truly kicks off the city’s commitment to making the downtown core a place that people really want to live and work,” said Buche.
The area of focus for Fresno revitalization efforts runs from Tuolumne Street in the north, Cesar Chavez Boulevard in the south, Van Ness Avenue to the east and State Route 99 to the west.
The replacing of the sewer and water mains will also include the restoration of sidewalks. In total, the project will cost $22 million and the city will partner with Floyd Johnston Construction Co. to complete it.
Councilmember Miguel Arias said the infrastructure modernization signals the need for property owners in downtown and Chinatown to also invest in the area in order for Fresno revitalization efforts succeed.
“Now we need the property owners who have been speculating for decades, have been waiting for the big payout or have been patient and trying to get the right interest rates and the right funding formula, to finally break ground, to move forward and actually execute,” Arias said.
Arias also said that while Chinatown and west Fresno have historically been neglected by the city and developers alike, this is a step in the right direction.
“I’ll look back and say it was a heavy lift, but it was worth it because it’s these kind of small actions that will make the difference in whether a housing project that’s affordable develops, or whether we simply set an environment where only market rate comes forward and gentrifies the neighborhoods that have been living here for generations,” Arias said.
Dyer also said that within the next six months, construction of a vertical parking garage will begin as part of Fresno revitalization efforts. He also mentioned that there are currently five housing developments in varying stages of progress that will house 2,000 people within the next 24 to 36 months.
The funding for the revitalization of downtown came from Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development, which budgeted $250 million over three years for the downtown revitalization in 2023.
So far, only $50 million has been given to Fresno, with the remaining $200 million having been deferred for at least two years. An additional $43.7 million was awarded to Fresno through the California Department of Housing and Community Development Infill Infrastructure Grant – Catalytics Qualifying Infill Area (IIGC) program.
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