The best incentive for any investment is the promise of making a return. Through the comprehensive downtown revitalization efforts being led by the City of Fresno Downtown and Community Revitalization Department, Downtown Fresno is becoming a place where it makes business sense to develop property, open a store or restaurant, live, or locate an office. Over the next several years, the market will respond by bringing more investment and development to the Downtown area.

Meanwhile, the Department is working with peer agencies to directly address obstacles to development and explore incentives for encouraging investment in Downtown now. For more details about any of the information below, contact Elliott Balch, City of Fresno Downtown Revitalization Manager, by email or at (559) 621-8350.

Connecting investors with opportunities. The City has begun receiving frequent calls from entrepreneurs seeking space for new businesses downtown. Meanwhile the Department also works with developers interested in bringing new use to vacant downtown buildings and land. Connecting developers with potential tenants benefits both parties, and helps get projects financed and built more quickly.

Maintaining dialogue with brokers. Real estate brokers are on the “front lines” in connecting tenants with available office and commercial space. The Department has begun regular meetings with brokers active in the Downtown market to refer potential customers who call City Hall, address client issues, and provide up-to-date information on the revitalization effort.

Historic theaters. Theaters are key drivers of revitalization because they can draw an after-hours crowd on a regional basis, which can in turn spill over to other nearby businesses. Yet of Downtown Fresno’s five historic theaters, none is truly in full use. City Film and Entertainment Commissioner Ray Arthur has begun convening the owners of these theaters in regular meetings to address issues of mutual concern and visions for future uses.

Water supply. Of the five wells serving Downtown Fresno, only three are now functional. As a result, Downtown is currently in a water supply deficit. Proposed projects face the possibility of delayed approvals for occupancy until these supply issues are resolved. The Downtown and Community Revitalization Department, working with peers from the Departments of Public Utilities and Planning and Development, is working to find funding for the solutions to this problem, which involve new pipelines into Downtown, fixing or redrilling the existing wells, and a major new reservoir to provide peak-time supply.

Neglected Buildings

Within a block of the Fulton Mall, of the seventeen buildings on the Local or National Registers of Historic Places, eleven are largely or completely vacant.

The Department believes the longtime neglect of buildings is a serious impediment to the revitalization effort. Neglected buildings — especially historic ones — represent missed opportunities and serve as signals of an unsuccessful downtown. Depending on the circumstances, neglect can also pose a threat to the physical integrity of our historic landmarks, or to the public’s health and safety. Bringing new life to these eyesores therefore takes on special importance.

New enforcement measures. For many years the City of Fresno has taken a conservative approach to neglectful building owners. Code violations were documented, owners were cited, and modest fines were paid. However, despite the City’s best intentions, the fundamental neglect was allowed to continue. Under the Swearengin administration, the City is exploring significantly increased fines for code violations, which escalate upon successive citations, and a tighter period for owners to demonstrate progress toward fixing violations.

Incentives. Cities in California can provide assistance to owners of historic buildings through adoption of a local Mills Act program. Under the Mills Act, owners who agree to restore and maintain their historic buildings can receive significantly lower property tax assessments. This tool has proven effective in other California cities, and is in use in at least 85 other jurisdictions. The Department is working with City peers to bring a Mills Act proposal forward to the City Council.

One example: a Public Market. The Department is working with private business owners and developers on a new “public market” to be created inside an existing vacant historic building on the Fulton Mall. The Market will be a marquee regional destination that connects the Valley’s agricultural identity with anyone who appreciates fresh, high-quality food and produce. By operating everyday, the Market will serve as a consistent anchor for the revitalized Fulton Mall. The Market is also an opportunity to demonstrate best practices in the adaptive reuse of large older buildings.