What's at stake?
Fresno will soon apply to regain a critical housing designation from state housing officials, who rescinded the status earlier this year. The designation gives the city access to millions of dollars in state housing grants.
The city also approved funding to two new affordable housing projects.
The Fresno City Council unanimously greenlit the city to apply for a coveted state housing designation that they lost earlier this year, which boxed them out of access to millions of dollars in grant funding.
The Prohousing Designation is a title granted by state officials to cities and counties they believe are doing their part to help address California’s housing crisis.
The city originally gained the Prohousing designation in March 2023. However, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer announced in a May city council meeting that state officials had revoked the status, since the City of Fresno wasn’t in compliance with specific housing-related state guidelines.
City staff told the council there have been ongoing discussions with the state on how to regain compliant status, and are confident that the application will get approval.
“This designation will reinforce our commitment to tackling the housing crisis and bring resources to help build more homes,” Dyer said in a press release shared Thursday.
Director of Planning and Development Jennifer Clark said at Thursday’s meeting that the city getting its Prohousing designation revoked “was one of the best things to happen to us.” She said the process allowed the city to more directly communicate with the state on policies they have set and approved.
As a result, Clark said the application expected to be sent to housing officials will have the highest score rating among all jurisdictions across the state “without committing the council to a future action (they) haven’t already taken.”
Among those pending actions is a yet-to-be-approved policy to streamline conversions of office buildings into housing. Clark confirmed that the city’s Prohousing designation reapproval was not likely contingent on the policy getting passed.
Clark added, however, that the item was a part of the city’s recently approved Housing Element — a roadmap document that cities and counties submit to the state to highlight how they plan to build more homes.
The office-to-housing conversion policy still has no return date on the council agenda, and it’s been idle since June.
The Prohousing designation application draft is currently available for the public to view. Residents can provide public comment on the application online.
Clark said at the meeting that the city intends to apply by mid-September, with an approval expected by mid-October following the state’s 30-day response period.
City takes next steps on Chinatown housing project
The council also approved plans to purchase and demolish a historic Chinatown building, making way for a new four-story mixed-use affordable housing development.
The council purchased the Peacock Hotel, a vacant building south of Tulare street between Fagan Alley and F Street, for $503,000.
The development, known as the Villa Baccara project, will provide a mix of up to 100 affordable and market-rate apartments alongside planned commercial space. The first floor will be commercial, and the remaining floors will host the apartments.
The Peacock Hotel was originally built in 1910, and its second building was constructed in 1940. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026, and take two years.
The Villa Baccara project is the latest in a yearslong effort from the city to invest and redevelop the downtown and Chinatown districts. Earlier this year, the city demolished the historic Bow On Tong building, across the street from the Villa Baccara project site, for another affordable housing development.
Parkway Drive apartments coming through
The city contributed millions of dollars, plus multiple land parcels, toward a local foundation’s plan to develop affordable housing across one of the city’s neediest corridors.
The Fresno City Council allocated $6 million to the Cesar Chavez Foundation to develop affordable housing along Parkway Drive — a strip of hotels and inns running west of Highway 99.
The development, known as Parkview Apartments, will have up to 170 units of affordable housing, with 52 apartments being set aside as permanent supportive housing.
The projects will replace two of the city’s homeless shelters at the Travel Inn and Villa Motel, if constructed.
The foundation still needs to apply for tax credits and incentives toward project development. If they fail to do so by the end of the year, the city’s commitment will expire.
