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Spring 2004
PROJECTS: Lofts Make Appearance
in Downtown Fresno
 Housing
is making its way into the Fresno downtown area, helping to revitalize
the City’s urban core.
About three years ago, a building that once housed the Red Cross
in downtown Fresno was revived as the Pearl Building. It is now
home to four artist live/work spaces over a gallery that serves
as a gathering spot for art, music and culture.
A true adaptive re-use project, the Pearl Building was redesigned
with four living units, each complete with a kitchen, bathroom
and skylights. The building’s central hallway from the entrance
off the main street serves as a gallery during the Fresno Art
Hop, a monthly event organized by the Fresno Arts Council to
showcase people’s work at locations throughout the city.
The hallway leads to a 2500 square-foot landscaped patio in the
rear with colored concrete, brick planters, a wall fountain and
metal sculpture. It’s a place where artists can develop
their talents, connect with others and have an affordable place
to live.
“As an artist I have always found it hard to find a place
where I could live, work and show to the public,” comments
the Pearl Building project designer and developer Reza Assemi. “The
Pearl serves as a place for all three as well as a catalyst for
downtown growth.”
Assemi’s family is well known for building suburban homes.
But with the help of his father and others, Assemi is focusing
on creating downtown living options that build up and fill in
the area north of Fulton Mall, an area that includes the museum
district and is near the Tower District, an activity center of
small shops, cafes, and businesses connected to traditional landscaped
streets with classic homes.
Indeed, in partnership with the City and Redevelopment Agency,
the Assemi family, Granville Homes and Pyramid Homes are converting
an old motel site one block away from the Pearl Building into
a mixed-use project combining residences with small shops. Dubbed
the Vagabond Lofts, the project will include 38 apartments ranging
from 650 to 1,000 square feet, with almost 10,000 square feet
of small commercial space. The buildings will be adjacent to
the sidewalk with residences above the commercial spaces. Parking
will be tucked behind the buildings to maintain pedestrian-friendly
street frontage. Residential balconies above the sidewalk will
watch over the street and help facilitate a warm urban residential
feeling. Assemi pictures art studios, cafes, and galleries filling
the spaces below.
More mixed-use development in downtown Fresno may not be far
off. A California subsidiary of Cleveland-based developer Forest
City Enterprises, a company known for taking on large and challenging
urban infill projects, is negotiating with the City on development
of the blocks south of the Fulton Mall known as the South Stadium
Project Area. While nothing is for sure at this point, the Forest
City proposal envisions a $350 to $400 million walkable, mixed-use
development with entertainment, active ground floor storefronts
and downtown urban housing. The City Council recently approved
an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement between the developer and
the Redevelopment Agency, giving the parties a year to work out
project details, timing, site plans, and the amount of public
investment that will be provided.
So stay tuned for mixed-use development in downtown Fresno with
more housing to continue the revitalization of Fresno’s
urban center.
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