Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said he hopes the homes help what the city calls the \u201cmissing middle\u201d class of local residents, or people \u201cearning too much to qualify for financial assistance, but not enough to keep up with the rising cost of housing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey simply cannot afford a three-bedroom home,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n
Dyer outlined the need for more affordable three-bedroom homes as part of his One Fresno Housing Plan<\/a> \u2014 his roadmap highlighting plans to help increase housing production in the city<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that the city committed about $3 million toward the project. City documents show the project\u2019s total cost was around $14.5 million<\/a>, with development starting around 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n The developer behind the housing community is Ted Moon, an investor-turned-developer from Los Angeles, and a man Dyer described as \u201ca visionary,\u201d a \u201cfinancial guru\u201d and \u201can innovative home builder,\u201d adding that he\u2019s \u201csomebody I deeply respect,\u201d and who \u201chas found the secret sauce\u201d in housing development.<\/p>\n \u201cTed Moon is exactly what we need in the City of Fresno,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cHe has a housing solution that I think is going to be somewhat of a revelation for developers in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n The traditional \u201cstick\u201d method of developing homes sees the wooden construction take place mostly on top of the grounds the home will be on. Modular development typically sees homes built off-site, pre-fabricated almost like a Lego set before being transported and assembled at its final destination.\u00a0<\/p>\n Modular developments are touted for their cost efficiency and faster development times, and are typically more affordable than stick-method homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city opened its first modular housing development last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Moon said at the ceremony that he became interested in building homes in Fresno after reading the mayor\u2019s roadmap document, and after identifying the city as an area where he could materialize his plan to help combat the local housing crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fresno County has a shortage of about 35,000 affordable homes, according to a California Housing Partnership<\/a> report released last year.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to have speed to have social impact,\u201d Moon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chuck Bleft, the director of business development for Champion Homes, told Fresnoland after the ceremony that the project\u2019s total timetable was around 17 months, with six months to build the homes at their site in Lindsay, California.<\/p>\n The price to rent one of these homes<\/a> hovers around the average for the area, according to Rent Cafe<\/a>. Moon said the competitive pricing, coupled with the new, increased supply he hopes his team can deliver quickly, should help lower the cost of living in Fresno.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe market will figure itself out,\u201d Moon said. \u201cThe market will adjust if we create the right supply.\u201d<\/p>\n Moon explained in a hypothetical scenario that all of the 92,000 rental households in the city could stand to save $100-200 in rent, about $220 million total annually, if enough housing supply can enter the market this way. He added that the cost savings should trickle down to benefit everyone in the city.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBeacause that $220 million is reinvested at the grocery store, at a restaurant, with child care services, with other services that require more jobs, that require more business, that require new industry,\u201d Moon said. \u201cThat is how you grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilmember Annalisa Perea echoed the mayor\u2019s sentiments at the ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMayor Dyer mentioned it already, Ted, but any project you want to do in the future, you have our full support,\u201d Perea said. \u201cYou not only set the standard for what manufactured housing can look like, but you raised the bar for anyone coming after you.\u201d<\/p>\n Moon told Fresnoland that his past life involves a career in investment banking, and hedge fund and private equity investment. He said that he sees Fresno as an \u201cundercover market\u201d compared to bigger cities in California like LA or San Francisco, and that he hopes to build hundreds of homes a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that a factor that led him to decide to build in Fresno lies close to home \u2014 with his wife.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were living in LA \u2026 and then we actually somehow ended up moving to Fresno and developing these affordable housing communities, because we think there\u2019s a real need for that,\u201d Moon said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife being from here introduced me to (Fresno),\u201d he added, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have thought of it otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Supportive housing for foster youth opened on Blackstone corridor<\/p>\n The City of Fresno also participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony for City Studios \u2014 a 33-unit permanent housing community.\u00a0<\/p>\n The development, on 3876 N Blackstone Ave, used to be a dilapidated 44-unit Travelodge motel before the city helped convert it into a new space. At the ceremony on Monday<\/a>, Dyer described the motel as a problem location for the police department, garnering many calls for service.\u00a0<\/p>\n The project cost about $13.5 million<\/a> according to city documents, with development starting around 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC1381.jpg\")
Ted Moon. Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC1438.jpg\")
The exterior of one of the homes at the Blythe Village. Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC1411.jpg\")
From Left: Developer Ted Moon and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer celebrate a moment together at the Blythe Village ribbon-cutting ceremony. Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland<\/p>\n