Before missing a “drop-dead deadline” later this month, the City of Fresno unanimously approved a two-week extension to the developers of a proposed high-density, downtown housing project, giving them more time to find out whether the bond market will finally finance the long-delayed project.
Coming in at a sticker price of about $80 million, The Park At South Stadium housing project is a proposed eight-story, 174-unit apartment development on the northwest corner of Fulton and Inyo streets, neighboring Chukchansi Park and the Brewery District in downtown Fresno. Seventy of those units are expected to be set aside for affordable housing.
The project’s developers are The Park Partners LLC, a Fresno-based developer group co-managed by Mehmet Noyan and Jeff Isenstadt.
The project was initially given a final “drop-dead deadline” of May 15 earlier this year. However, Phil Skei, assistant director for the city’s planning and development department, said at Thursday’s meeting that the new extension was brought forward due to circumstances outside of the city’s control.
“There were some very significant global military conflicts that…created some significant uncertainty that was very temporary among bond investors,” Skei said.
The developers are expected to get the rest of the financing for the downtown housing proposal, about $70 million, through the bond market. Skei said the conflicts created only a “two-week delay.” He added that the schedule for the project to begin construction remains unchanged.
At the same meeting, the city council also unanimously approved an $8 million loan for the developers in an effort to aid their fundraising woes. The developers were approved for the loan ahead of an expiration for a separate loan for the same amount that was approved earlier this year.
The Park At South Stadium housing project has been in the works since 2015. A decade later, the project has gone through different permutations as it has tried and failed to get off the ground, leaving it in a constant state of limbo.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, who has been a major proponent of the housing project as part of his goals to see more housing built in the heart of the city, continued to voice his support on Thursday. He acknowledged the frustration with yet another deadline extension for the project.
“We cannot control the bond market,” Dyer said on Thursday. “I think this delay, although we don’t necessarily anticipate it, and we may not like it, it is something outside of our control. I think it’s a small price to pay, two weeks, to have the level of development that we’re going to see.”
Fresno may soon provide builders with new way to get financing
The Fresno City Council will mull whether to adopt a new policy that could see developers add a new tool to help finance their projects.
The council held a workshop for the state’s Bond Opportunities for Land Development, or BOLD, program. In short, the program provides developers with a new option to pay for things like fees and infrastructure improvements that can sometimes be tied to a new project.
The workshop does not require an action by the city council. The council will meet again for a meeting on May 21, where it is expected that the BOLD program will come back on the agenda attached through a hearing and resolution asking for its adoption.
The Fresno City Council will meet again May 15 for the unveiling of the mayor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
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