What was once a long and empty dirt lot near Tulare and Clovis Avenues has now become a commercial hub for southeast Fresno.<\/p>\n
The Fancher Creek Development includes the largest Target in Fresno at 155,000 square feet, a Sprouts grocery store, an In-N-Out Burger, a PetSmart and a few more.<\/p>\n
“I am so excited for the dog store because I would have to travel all the way to Clovis to get my dog’s nails cut, and now, I can come here,” said local Laelani Martinez.<\/p>\n
Laelani Martinez grew up in a nearby neighborhood and is excited to save on gas and time.<\/p>\n
She says driving to the nearest Target added up.<\/p>\n
“My drive was maybe, I would say roughly 20 minutes, and now it turned into like 5 minutes.”<\/p>\n
Mayor Jerry Dyer says this project, developed by Lance Kashian & Company, has been a long time coming.<\/p>\n
“This project is 20 years in the making at least. From the time the property was acquired to discussions and plans, it’s probably been the better part of 2 decades,” said Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.<\/p>\n
A 12-year-old was with his mom and says they are ready to make Fancher Creek their family’s go-to shopping center.<\/p>\n
“It’s very nice and we don’t have to drive too far, and it’s really nice over there,” said the boy.<\/p>\n
Dyer calls this is an investment the community deserves.<\/p>\n
“It’s an area that often times has not had the amenities as other parts of the city, and we’ve had a population explosion in southeast Fresno as well as Sanger.”<\/p>\n
Sprouts opened earlier this month and Target opens on Sunday, October 19.<\/p>\n
In-N-Out is expected to open in early November and construction is still underway for a few more stores.<\/p>\n
Dyer says there are more projects in Southeast Fresno underway.<\/p>\n
For news updates, follow Elisa Navarro on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n