{"id":425327,"date":"2026-08-06T10:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/425327\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T10:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:12:13","slug":"fresno-to-break-ground-on-80m-downtown-apartment-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/425327\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno to break ground on $80M downtown apartment project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Right outside Chukchansi Park\u2019s outfield in downtown Fresno sits an empty city-owned lot that has promised a major apartment project for more than a decade.<\/p>\n<p>The developers planning to build The Park at South Stadium apartments there have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fresno.legistar.com\/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=15439534&amp;GUID=58BAAB27-6AA5-4345-B112-5B20D9EF86EF\">a city-set deadline of Aug. 31<\/a> to obtain the permits they need to break ground. It appears they\u2019re just about there.<\/p>\n<p>City of Fresno spokesperson Sontaya Rose said Tuesday in a text to The Bee that the groundbreaking for the eight-story, 174-unit project is expected next week. She did not clarify exactly when.<\/p>\n<p>Helping the developers of the $80 million project get to groundbreaking has been a specific priority in Mayor Jerry Dyer\u2019s downtown revitalization plans. The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/news\/local\/article62255127.html\">city first approved<\/a> a past version of the development in 2016, but it has since become an example of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/news\/article314235716.html\">housing development struggles in downtown Fresno<\/a>, where financing housing has been difficult because rent prices often do not justify construction costs.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past three years, the city has tried to incentivize development by using state dollars<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/news\/local\/article316416650.html\"> to install new infrastructure<\/a> to support downtown housing. This year, it has also used some of those dollars to provide shovel-ready developers with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/news\/local\/article313370069.html\">gap financing loans<\/a> to help them start building in the area.<\/p>\n<p>The South Stadium project has received <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fresno.legistar.com\/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=15429783&amp;GUID=C58C3216-8D72-46D9-A105-9CC39DD70DE0\">an $8 million gap financing loan<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fresno.legistar.com\/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=15580728&amp;GUID=1310247E-D83E-4AC4-8A99-008A75653C28\">a $3.7 million loan<\/a> from the city\u2019s Local Housing Trust Fund. The developers have also secured $69.6 million in bond market financing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Park at South Stadium Apartments represents everything we have been working toward \u2014 quality infill housing, affordability, and a vibrant urban core,\u201d Mayor Jerry Dyer said in a late May news release, when the project finished securing all the financing it needed for construction to begin.<\/p>\n<p>                                          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FRS_EPZ_SOUTHSTADIUM_01.JPG\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"742\" title=\"FRS_EPZ_SOUTHSTADIUM_01.JPG\" alt=\"The empty lot at Inyo and Fulton streets, center, future site of The Park at South Stadium apartments seen Aug. 5, 2026 in downtown Fresno.\"\/>                                                                                    The empty lot at Inyo and Fulton streets, center, future site of The Park at South Stadium apartments seen Aug. 5, 2026 in downtown Fresno.                                                                                            ERIC PAUL ZAMORA                                                                            ezamora@fresnobee.com                                                                                        174 units above retail in downtown Fresno\u2019s Brewery District<\/p>\n<p>The South Stadium apartments will provide 174 units at the intersection of Fulton and Inyo streets, across the street from Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden.<\/p>\n<p>The building will be mixed-income: 104 apartments will be market-rate and 70 will be priced for low-income households for 55 years. The project\u2019s development agreement says the apartments will be fully furnished and feature \u201cmodern amenities,\u201d including refrigerators and dishwashers.<\/p>\n<p>The ground level will feature community space, a fitness center, conference rooms and 1,568 square feet of retail space, according to the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>                                          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FRS_EPZ_SOUTHSTADIUM_04.JPG\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"705\" title=\"FRS_EPZ_SOUTHSTADIUM_04.JPG\" alt=\"Fencing blocks off the empty lot at Inyo and Fulton streets, future site of The Park at South Stadium apartments, with Chukchansi Park seen to the left in the far background, is seen Aug. 5, 2026 in downtown Fresno.\"\/>                                                                                    Fencing blocks off the empty lot at Inyo and Fulton streets, future site of The Park at South Stadium apartments, with Chukchansi Park seen to the left in the far background, is seen Aug. 5, 2026 in downtown Fresno.                                                                                            ERIC PAUL ZAMORA                                                                            ezamora@fresnobee.com                                                                                        Downtown Fresno apartment project was previously killed, revived<\/p>\n<p>Fresno builders Mehmet Noyan and Terance Frazier had already been planning the first phase of the South Stadium project for more than six years when they got the City Council\u2019s approval for the development in 2016. That version proposed 51 units atop 10,000 square feet of retail space at a cost of about $15 million.<\/p>\n<p>In a controversial move, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/news\/politics-government\/article265106169.html\">city officials in 2022 killed the project<\/a> by choosing not to extend deadlines in the agreement. The project\u2019s price tag had increased to $32 million and Councilmember Mike Karbassi argued the project had already stalled for too long.<\/p>\n<p>The city <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fresno.legistar.com\/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7720550&amp;GUID=3BF12105-5A10-41D0-95B7-5377BF3C19C8\">revived the project last fall<\/a> by approving another development agreement with Noyan and his new partner on the project, Jeff Isenstadt.<\/p>\n<p>Noyan died in June after a long battle with cancer.<\/p>\n<p>                                          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Park at South Stadium rendering (The Noyan CompanyJCI Development, Inc.).png\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"676\" title=\"Park at South Stadium rendering (The Noyan CompanyJCI Development, Inc.).png\" alt=\"A rendering of The Park at South Stadium in downtown Fresno.\"\/>                                                                                    A rendering of The Park at South Stadium in downtown Fresno.                                                                                                                                                                        The Noyan Company\/JCI Development, Inc.                                                                                                                                  <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FRS_EPZ_SOUTHSTADIUM_02.JPG\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"748\" title=\"FRS_EPZ_SOUTHSTADIUM_02.JPG\" alt=\"A lock placed along fencing at the empty lot at Inyo and Fulton streets, future site of The Park at South Stadium apartments is seen Aug. 5, 2026 in downtown Fresno.\"\/>                                                                                    A lock placed along fencing at the empty lot at Inyo and Fulton streets, future site of The Park at South Stadium apartments is seen Aug. 5, 2026 in downtown Fresno.                                                                                            ERIC PAUL ZAMORA                                                                            ezamora@fresnobee.com<br \/>\n        Related Stories from  Fresno Bee<\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/profile\/279093999\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6743EEF5-FFCA-4EF4-A26A-CF3830F06743.JPG\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" alt=\"Profile Image of Erik Galicia\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n                    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                <a class=\"author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fresnobee.com\/profile\/279093999\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Erik Galicia<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n<p>            Erik is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, where he helped launch an effort to better meet the news needs of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Before that, he served as editor-in-chief of his community college student newspaper, Riverside City College Viewpoints, where he covered the impacts of the Salton Sea\u2019s decline on its adjacent farm worker communities in the Southern California desert.\n            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Right outside Chukchansi Park\u2019s outfield in downtown Fresno sits an empty city-owned lot that has promised a major&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-425327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}