First developed 16 years ago, the Fresno park that once featured miniature versions of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and AT&T Park sat vacant after a streak of failed business ventures that left the city’s District Four without much-needed recreational space.

Now, each of the three miniature fields is completely renovated with high-quality artificial turf covering the infield and manicured grass in the outfield.

“This is truly the greatest day in District Four history,” City council member Paul Caprioglio said. “We’ve been working on having something like this here in the heart of District Four for many years and I can guarantee that families, children, seniors and entire neighborhoods will be out here every day to enjoy this facility.”

The restored fields only represent the first pitch toward completely renovating the property. Future plans include adding a fourth, regulation-sized field, volleyball courts, and a new, two-story restaurant with a sports bar and arcade.

Spearheading the project are local developers Terance Frazier and TJ Cox, who signed a 25-year lease agreement with the city in 2015 to operate year-round sports leagues and athletic training programs at the 18-acre facility. The city had taken over maintenance costs for the facility in 2010.

Though the duo has received praise for taking on the massive renovation, Frazier, a former baseball player who played college ball for Fresno State and went pro playing for the Oakland A’s, said the project isn’t simply another feather in his baseball-player-turned-developer cap.

“I never wanted this project to be a Terance Frazier project. This is a community project,” Frazier said. “This isn’t something Terrance did because he was a baseball player and this was his dream. This was not my dream. This was something I felt had to be done because we need to see people out here like we see today. We need to see kids running around on the field like they are today.”

Cox, the president and chief operating officer of the Central Valley NMTC Fund, a community development agency that helps bring federal tax-credit funds to low-income communities in the area, said the project has been a go since day one.

Though a myriad of wrong business models were presented for over the years, Cox said the idea of investing in the community and making Granite Park a great recreational space was always a good one. Frazier’s vision, he said, was just the first that was sustainable and financially sound.

“When Terrance came to me with his idea, it was always a yes,” Cox said. “Investing in the community is always a great return. It’s a great societal return, community return and an economic return.”

Mayor Lee Brand said finding the right project for the stigmatized Granite Park was always a challenge, and many people approached the city with various ideas. Already stuck with a $5.5 million loan and a hefty $104,000 annual bill just to keep weeds from becoming a fire hazard, Brand said the city was hesitant to put any further resources into the facility.

“I saw so many ideas for this facility come up, from soccer and baseball fields to hotels, and the consistent theme was they wanted the city to underwrite it or the city to guarantee it,” Brand said. “We weren’t going to make the same mistake twice…Terrance and TJ brought a sound business model to the table and more importantly, it was a model that didn’t have the city of Fresno underwriting it. It had these guys sticking out their necks financially to do this.

“This is what Fresno is all about—civic entrepreneurs and pioneers who come through and walk the walk and talk the talk and make this a better city.”