The new Light House Recovery Center in Downtown Fresno could be open by mid October. Photo by Ben Hensley

In February, the Light House Recovery Program broke ground on its new Downtown Fresno building, replacing its original home lost in a fire in October 2021.

Six months later, the house is nearing completion, ready to serve women struggling with addiction, homelessness and other life crises in a safe and supportive atmosphere.

Despite several delays and other on-site issues, Light House CEO and founder Vikki Luna said she has never seen a project come together so quickly. They hope to open their doors by mid-October.

“Who builds a 5,300 square-foot house in six or seven months?” Luna said, praising the City of Fresno and contractor Legacy Building Company by Wathen, who is completing the project at cost. “I’m not someone who sits around either. I’m a make-it-happen person and so is the contractor.”

Despite the quick turnaround, it hasn’t been without its snags. Luna said the project has had to deal with challenges from several city departments as well as property theft issues.

“Because it was on a historic registry there’s a historic committee through the City of Fresno that has to review and approve [the project],” Luna said. “They wanted to see if we could preserve any piece of the house – and you have to wait to get on their calendar – so that took a couple of months.”

The process through the city’s Historic Preservation Commission  eventually determined that nothing from the original house could be salvaged.

Despite the delays, however, Luna said the City of Fresno has been very helpful pushing paperwork through, handling PG&E and tree trimming issues in very short time spans.

“The city leadership has been supportive and helpful to us as we’ve come along little snags along the way,” she said.

Additionally, Luna has had to pivot to dealing with theft issues on the premises as well.

“They kept busting the locks and stealing those, and cutting the fence. We had to pay for someone to mend the fencing that surrounds the perimeter,” she said. “It is definitely taking more finances and resources because we had to hire security.”

Initially, they hired a security company to conduct drive-by security checks, but Luna said that ultimately, the program had to hire a standing guard for the entire graveyard shift.

“That is taking away money that our community benefit organization does not have,” she said.

The project was also delayed for around four days earlier this year due to the heavy spring rains.

Despite the issues, headaches and minor delays, Luna said she is excited for the opening and ready for the next challenge: furnishing the finished project.

With the added cost of onsite security, Luna said the organization will turn to the community for assistance in furnishing.

“We are looking to the community, of course, to sponsor or adopt a room so that we can get in there very quickly once the construction is completed,” Luna said.

The Light House Recovery Program was founded in 2007 by Vikki Luna as a faith-based program that assists in recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration for women in the Fresno Area. Partnered with Cornerstone Coffee Company, Light-WEAR and LadyBUG Boutique (formerly known as Light House Thrift), the program is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and often provides work for its members in recovery.