FAHF President & CEO Dora Westerlund in 2024 secured the purchase of the Berkeley Building for $1, with plans to renovate it for future retail space and business incubator offices. Photo by Frank Lopez
published on February 6, 2026 – 2:49 PM
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The City of Fresno will receive $250,000 in federal funding to help establish a full-service business development incubator in partnership with the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation in a formerly vacant facility in Downtown Fresno.
The incubator will provide local entrepreneurs and small business owners with resources including technical assistance, financial literacy training and access to capital to help grow their businesses.
In 2024, FAHF President and CEO Dora Westerlund secured the purchase of the Berkeley Building at 887 Fulton St. for $1, with plans to renovate it for future retail space and business incubator offices. The two-story building covers about 11,250 square feet.
The foundation operates downtown Fresno’s first bilingual business incubator in the western United States at its headquarters at 1444 Fulton St.
Central Valley secures millions in federal appropriations
Millions of dollars in federal funding are coming to the Central Valley for water infrastructure, defense and national security, transportation projects and economic development following passage of the funding package.
The Senate this week passed a government funding agreement, ending the partial government shutdown and enacting five full-year appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026 previously passed by the House of Representatives. President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law Tuesday.
Rep. Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, announced community project funding totaling more than $50 million for the region.
Water infrastructure
Fresno County will receive $2 million to establish 3,300 acres of groundwater recharge basins in the Fresno Irrigation District, Consolidated Irrigation District and Alta Irrigation District to provide reliable groundwater supplies to farms and communities.
“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Representative Fong, the $2 million community project funding for the Upper Kings Water Resiliency Project marks a significant step forward in enhancing our Valley’s water security,” said Bill Stretch, general manager of the Fresno Irrigation District.
The city of Visalia will receive $2 million to fund its Groundwater Recharge Basin F Project to expand stormwater capture, improve groundwater quality in the Kaweah Subbasin and support a future 248-acre regional park.
The Success Reservoir Enlargement Project will receive $14.6 million to finalize operational requirements for the expanded reservoir, improving flood protection and water reliability for Tulare County.
The Tule River Tribe will receive $1.25 million to replace aging water transmission infrastructure.
The city of Lemoore will receive $1 million for advanced metering infrastructure to improve water conservation, detect leaks and protect groundwater resources.
Defense and emergency services
Naval Air Station Lemoore will receive $17 million to design a new F-35 aircraft maintenance hangar to improve maintenance capacity for the Navy’s F-35 program.
The station will also receive $2.5 million to support testing of technology that reduces risk of foreign object debris, improving aircraft safety and operational readiness.
Kings County will receive $3 million to develop a new headquarters for the Kings County Fire Department and Office of Emergency Services.
“Congressman Fong really came through for Kings County,” said Rusty Robinson, chairman of the Kings County Board of Supervisors. “The new Fire Department and Emergency Operations Center headquarters will give our firefighters and emergency teams the space and tools they need to better protect our residents.”
The Tulare Police Department will receive $579,150 to expand its dispatch center, improving emergency response times and officer safety.
Transportation and housing
The Fresno Airport Improvement Act funding of $3.15 million will enable the city of Fresno to plan and design a major expansion of Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
The County of Tulare, in partnership with Salt+Light Works, will receive $1.2 million to build a 53-unit permanent supportive housing community in Goshen as part of a social enterprise hub at the Neighborhood Village.
The city of Fresno and the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce will receive $850,000 to expand clean transportation access.
“This funding directly responds to those challenges by investing in safer roads, cleaner air, expanded food access, workforce training, affordable housing and critical water infrastructure,” Costa said. “Together, these projects will create jobs, strengthen our local economy and ensure our communities have the resources they need not just to get by, but to move forward.”
“Today’s House vote restores fiscal responsibility in Washington by reopening the government, cuts wasteful spending and makes needed investments throughout the Central Valley,” Fong said. “I thank President Trump for signing this important bill into law.”
Costa announced passage of the fiscal year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding legislation Feb. 5, which includes nine community project funding awards totaling $11.2 million. He also announced passage of the Interior and Environment funding legislation, which includes two community project funding awards of $2 million for water projects in the San Joaquin Valley.