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Rendering of The Row contributed.

published on September 22, 2021 - 2:31 PM
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Multifamily housing, retail and restaurant spaces are growing in north Fresno and Clovis as part of a years-long development plan.

The Row, a high-end multifamily apartment complex, shares property with retail and restaurant spaces, which are over halfway leased, said Vincent Ricchiuti, managing partner at Heritage Development Company in Clovis.

“We’re really excited about the retail at The Row,” Ricchiuti said.

He said there are several tenants who have signed leases, and a number of them are in final negotiations. There are two retail pads that aren’t built yet, but of the ones completed, mostly small and locally owned businesses are filling up the spaces.

Ampersand Ice Cream will open its third location at The Row, and Revival 23, a Clovis-based boutique and home store, will open its third location at The Row.

Flora Flower Cart inked its first brick-and-mortar space after operating solely with a flower cart at farmer’s markets, events and boutiques. The Row will also welcome Alyrina Nail and Spa.

Business permits in Fresno have a reputation for a slow timeline, but Alyrina Nail and Spa and Ampersand snagged the initial permits.

Brandon Smittcamp has also signed a lease to open a Mexican restaurant at The Row. According to Ricchiuti, the upscale restaurant is called Black Sheep Hospitality, though Smittcamp said it was not yet named and did not wish to comment on the restaurant.

Ricchiuti said that the development group hopes to sign a coffee shop or gym, but hasn’t landed anything official.

“Everything is progressing really nicely,” he said.

He hopes to have at least the first shop up and running by the end of the year or in January.

Manco Abbott manages the property, including The Residences at The Row, while the Heritage Development Company is a partnership between the Ricchiuti family, which owns Enzo’s Table, and the Parnagian family, which owns Fowler Packing.

Heritage Development Company is behind the new years-long Heritage Grove plan in north Clovis, which involves extensive walking trails, restaurants, retail and housing. The plan will accommodate about 30,000 residents on four square miles, bounded by Willow, Shepherd, Copper and Sunnyside avenues.

The development company will hold and develop multifamily, retail and office space in the Heritage Grove area. Ricchiuti said that the company plans to develop more multifamily housing on the southeast corner of Willow and Shepherd avenues where Enzo’s Table is located. It also plans to develop more retail and office space on that same corner to replicate the feel of The Row. They are still in the planning stages of this project.

The Heritage Development Company has partnered with Lennar for its development of The Ranch at Heritage Grove, a community of single-family homes. Ricchiuti said that people are starting to see the potential in the area, and signed tenants have capitalized on the clientele in north Fresno and Clovis. It has commanded well-known local tenants — some who are opening their second or third locations.

“I think it speaks to people’s understanding of what we’re trying to do and they’re seeing the vision for this area,” Ricchiuti said of the tenant attraction.

He said the planning company has done a lot of work with architecture and space planning, and these business owners have noticed the attention to detail to this space and noticed the demographics of the area match their brand.

“Everybody’s excited about this part of town,” he said. “This part of town is excited about having these types of shops and tenants in our area.”

The development borders walking trails on either side of it, making it a place to bike and walk from homes to shops in the future. The Row has already attracted residents because of the frequent food truck events across the street, which Ricchiuti says is a huge selling point.

“We want everything to be very walkable, landscaped beautifully,” Ricchiuti said. “We want the best of the best local tenants.”

The area is designed to be an urban setting in town where everything is walkable, he said.

Jeff Bennett, co-owner of Ampersand Ice Cream, said this location has been in the works for a while.

Bennett said he liked the concept of all locally-owned establishments in The Row.

“When the opportunity posed itself, we jumped at it,” Bennett said.

This location, unlike others, will be the first location to serve soft serve ice cream, a smoother ice cream that can be dispensed instead of scooped.

During the pandemic, Ampersand expanded to delivery services, and took note that a wide range of its customer base is in the northeast area of Fresno, bordering Clovis. Getting that demographic information became a nail in the coffin as far as pulling the trigger on that location, he said.

Between the restaurants and existing food truck draw at Enzo’s Table, Bennett said the area will become a hangout spot.

“It’s one of the things that attracted us to it,” Bennett said.

This will be Ampersand’s third location. When it first opened, Bennett had no plans of ever expanding or hiring employees, as he dreamed it would just be run by his wife and him.

The projected open date is in December this year, subject to permitting and construction scheduling.

“It will have great synergy there,” Bennett said.


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