State Center Community College District purchased the Guarantee Financial Building on Fulton Street last month to serve as its administrative office for Fresno City College and Clovis Community College.

published on May 9, 2018 - 1:15 PM

Written by Donald A. Promnitz

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Along with the reopening of Fulton Street last year, efforts are being made to return commerce to the city’s historic buildings downtown, and staff of Fresno’s Development and Resource Management Department hope to move businesses and people into these spots.

“The Rowell Building and Hotel Fresno, they really kicked off a decade-long building boom in Downtown Fresno that kind of went from that point to the Pacific Southwest Building being completed, and that’s when our skyline really came to be,” said Dan Zack, assistant planning director. “So the goal is for all those buildings to be brought back to life, filled back up.”

One such building to see efforts made is Hotel Fresno. Opened in 1913, it was a favorite spot for Fresno’s elite and served as a place to stay for the vaudeville performers of the early 20th century.

“At the time of its construction, it was the largest hotel in Fresno and the Central Valley and it was known for modern facilities and also its lavish elegance as well,” said Laura Van Onna, historic preservation specialist. “So definitely a hub in the Central Valley and in Fresno.”

An effort has been made by members of APEC International, the Los Angeles company that owns Hotel Fresno, to add the landmark building to the National Register of Historic Places. If successful, it will result in financial incentives to restore the dilapidated building.

“We had surveyed the property and identified that it was potentially eligible for the National Register, but we didn’t move forward any sort of nomination to get it put on there at that point,” Zack said, stating that APEC has the support of the Department.

Zack added that there are plans after reconstruction to convert the hotel to 79 apartments with restaurants on the ground floor.

Another historic spot, the Guarantee Financial Building on Fulton Street, received a significant boost when it was purchased by State Center Community College District last month to serve as its administrative office for Fresno City College and Clovis Community College.

The purchase of the building came as part of the promises made by SCCCD’s leadership after the passing of Measure C. In order to address the shortage of parking at Fresno City College and other space issues, the District needed to free up more land.

“We started looking at properties around and this one came up and it was downtown,” said Paul Parnell, SCCCD Chancellor. “And it was the right price, so we took that and we looked at it.”

Parnell said that the new administrative office would need parking for 150 people and 60,000 square feet of office space for its staff. The Guarantee Building exceeded these requirements with a parking structure with 642 stalls and 80,000 square feet of office space. SCCCD went into negotiations and in March purchased the building at $10.5 million.

While the reason for the purchase ultimately was the building’s meeting of criteria, Parnell added that the history behind the Guarantee Building is an added bonus.

“We love being part of the city,” he said. “I was really excited by the enthusiasm of the city to have us move down there as part of the revitalization.”

Currently, revitalization efforts are being made at the Pacific Southwest Building and there are plans for commerce at the Helm Building in the Fulton District.

“There’s no silver bullet to this stuff,” Zack said. “But if we can support folks that have great ideas for these buildings, we can put public activity and connectivity back in place and do all those things together, then hopefully that will get us where we want to go.”