The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and other county employees are one step closer to moving to a new home after the Board of Supervisors approved a $25 million purchase this week.
The purchase is pending a 90-day due diligence process before the sale could go through in July for two multi-story buildings between P and O streets just south of Inyo Street, which are now occupied by PG&E.
The vote came a went without much fanfare Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, which approved it 4-0.
“I’m very much looking forward to this and the process and, hopefully, the purchase of those buildings so the sheriff’s (deputies) have their needs met, and this body has its needs met, and the people of this building as well,” Supervisor Garry Bredefeld said during the meeting.
Supervisor Nathan Magsig recused himself from the vote as part of a Levine Act conflict, which prohibits elected officials from voting on proceedings that involve their donors. The buildings are owned by 7355 N. Palm Avenue LLC and Assemi Investments LLC, which are partially owned by developer Darius Assemi.
New offices are necessary because Fresno County has been promised a new courthouse, which will replace the 60-year-old one on Van Ness Avenue. The new one is set to be about 413,000 square feet with 36 courtrooms on a parcel of more than 2 acres, but officials in Sacramento have not ironed out all the plans and needs of the project.
The plans for the new courthouse call for the demolition of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office on Fresno Street, which was built in 1969. Finding a new location near the Main Jail and the Fresno County Superior Courthouse was a high priority, according to Tony Botti, the sheriff’s spokesperson.
“They can maybe even help us to consolidate some other units that currently aren’t at our headquarters, and then the fact that it’s downtown,” he said. “It’s tough to find places that suit our needs downtown, and we want to remain close to the courthouse and the jail, so staying downtown is important to us.”
Botti said the timeline for the move is not set in stone, noting the plans for the new courthouse are not final and the buildings have not formally been purchased. He said the earliest the Sheriff’s Office could begin to move would be in a year, but that timeline is not firm.
“It’s just a good opportunity,” Botti said. “So we feel it’s best to move on it now rather than wait to when we’re officially told that we need to leave.”
Both buildings would also need to undergo security improvements as one would house administrative offices for deputies and the other the administrative offices for the employees who work out of the Hall of Records.
Two offices in downtown Fresno that are home to PG&E are set to be the new home for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office pending a 90-day due diligence process after a vote on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. One of the buildings is seen on P Street near Tulare Street the day after the vote. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com 
Two offices in downtown Fresno that are home to PG&E are set to be the new home for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office pending a 90-day due diligence process after a vote on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. One of the buildings is seen on P Street near Tulare Street the day after the vote. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com 
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, seen Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 in downtown Fresno, California. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Merced Sun-Star
Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.