What's at stake?
Homeless advocates and southeast Fresno residents hope to see the site turned into affordable housing at a time that Fresno County has a shortage of around 35,000 housing units.
Fresno County once again wants to find a buyer for the abandoned University Medical Center hospital in southeast Fresno.
The old UMC campus, located on East Kings Canyon Road and South Cedar Avenue, is on the market for an asking price of $6 million.
The sale of the property comes nearly five years after a deal to sell the property resulted in criminal charges for a former county staffer.
In 2019, the county approved an agreement to sell the building for $4 million to the Fresno-based CMG Construction Management Group, Inc., which planned to turn the site into a mixed-use development with affordable housing, a pharmacy, a grocery store, and retail.
But the deal fell through when Steve Rapada, former chief of staff for Supervisor Sal Quintero, was arrested and alleged to have financial stakes in the county-negotiated contract. Rapada was sentenced to one year of probation and 60 hours of community service for a misdemeanor conflict of interest violation.
City officials revoked their end of the deal, calling it “tainted.”
CMG Construction Management Group, Inc. then sued both the city and the county over the collapsed deal in 2022. A case management conference is scheduled for next month.
In 2021, the city of Fresno also entertained the idea of buying the old hospital to eventually use it for affordable housing. But according to county records, the negotiations with the city lasted through June 2022 but were ultimately unsuccessful.
City officials cited staff time and resources as some of the reasons they didn’t complete the purchase of the building.
In an email statement to The Bee/Fresnoland, City Manager Georgeanne White said that while the purchase of the UMC property would be a “unique opportunity” for southeast Fresno, “it would require a substantial commitment of money and staff time to arrive at a successful conclusion.”
“With the receipt of over $170 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act federal stimulus) funding with looming deadlines,” she said, “it became evident that we could not commit the resources to accomplish such a complicated project.”
According to county officials, the sale also fell through because of required environmental reviews. Quintero said there had been “some concerns” about Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) during the last negotiation process.
Robert Bash, head of internal services for Fresno County, said that during the last negotiation process “with another governmental entity,” EIRs were “triggered” as a requirement because they had “had already expressed their intentions … with the property.”
“I guess it was a learning process the last time around,” Quintero said Tuesday.
Southeast Fresno residents want housing, investment
Homeless advocates and southeast Fresno residents want to see the former space turned into affordable housing.
“It’s a resource that we need, of course, when we have a shortage of 35,000 housing units in the county,” Bob McCloskey said, addressing the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
City planners agree.
According to the city’s draft Central Southeast Specific Plan, a guiding document for the city’s growth in large chunks of southeast Fresno for the next 30 years, a key priority is redeveloping the old UMC site into affordable housing.
City officials are advocating for the former hospital to be converted into senior housing with medical, behavioral, and social services. The city also envisions turning the parking lot into a public space that could accommodate events such as farmers markets and food truck festivals, according to the draft planning document.
The site, however, would require renovations and demolition before using for housing. As of 2021, the estimated cost for site demolition, asbestos abatement, and clearing was $14.6 million.
For now, the city has no plans to take on the project.
“We remain hopeful that the site will be redeveloped by the private sector into a project that we all can be proud of,” White said.
County officials, meanwhile, have long stated they’ll leave it up to the property owner. Supervisor Steve Brandau has said the county would not “get involved in dictating the terms of what happens there.”
The building has been vacant since the hospital closed in 2007.
Currently, the county operates several behavioral health facilities in existing buildings on the property, which it anticipates occupying until the end of 2025.
The Board will conduct public bidding for the sale of the Property at a meeting held in the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers on or before Aug. 8.
