Fresno sells vacant downtown building for $1. Buyer planning restaurants, retail, offices

A long-vacant building beyond the outfield wall of the Chukchansi Park baseball stadium in downtown Fresno is being sold for $1 to an organization with hopes to revitalize the building as a space for startup restaurants, retail and offices.

In unanimous votes Thursday, the Fresno City Council approved the sale of the 64-year-old building at the corner of Fulton and Kern streets – originally home to Berkeley’s Department Store – to the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation. The building has been mostly vacant since 1982, and the city bought the building in 2007 for $1.45 million.

Marlene Murphy, executive director of the city’s redevelopment successor agency, said the building has an appraised value of about $81,000 “and suffers extensive water damage to the roof and interior.”

“This project would most certainly address flight,” Murphy told the City Council, “and advance downtown revitalization and economic development.”

Dora Westerlund, president/CEO and founder of the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation, noted that the organization had previously established a bilingual business incubator about six blocks to the north on Fulton Street.

A similar plan is envisioned for the Berkeley’s building, which will be renamed “887 Fulton.”

“I will do my best to develop, if given the opportunity by the council, to develop a retail/mixed-use site,” Westerlund said.

According to a development agreement between the city and the foundation, “the ground floor is conceptually planned for repurpose as a food hub for small restaurants and related businesses.” The second floor would be renovated for office spaces.

The building flanks the Kern Street plaza entrance from Fulton Street to the baseball stadium.

The first- and second-floor spaces are planned to incubate and grow small businesses, while the basement would be used for office storage and mechanical services for the building. Each level of the building includes about 11,250 square feet of space.

The development agreement provides for a six-month period for the sale to close, and 18 months for the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation to navigate the city’s planning and permit processes before construction of up to 24 months begins.

Mayor questions building renovation timeline

Mayor Jerry Dyer expressed concern over the potential four-year period before the renovation is completed and the building is ready to open.

“I think the goal is for all of us to have those buildings occupied as soon as possible,” Dyer said. “For me to have a building continue to sit vacant for four years would not be a good idea, especially when we’re selling it for $1.”

Murphy said the building’s condition prompted an extended time frame for its rehabilitation. “But they can close (escrow) in six months.”

The development agreement also includes 50 to 70 parking spaces in the nearby city-owned “spiral garage” at Van Ness Avenue and Inyo Street through a parking agreement.