Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer speaks at the ribbon cutting of Sarah's Court, a 120-unit, affordable apartment complex in Southeast Fresno on Feb. 24, 2025. Photo by Dylan Gonzales

Fresno city officials and community members gathered in Southeast Fresno on Monday morning to celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Sarah’s Court, a 120-unit affordable family housing apartment complex at Fancher Creek.

The apartments broke ground in February 2023 and are next to Brand Haven, an apartment complex for those aged 62 and over.

In February 2024, the Fresno City Council approved a $2.4 million loan for the project under the state Community Development Block Grant.

A second phase of Sarah’s Court, with 122 additional units proposed, is planned and pending funding approvals.

Following the ribbon cutting, Tracy Kashian, vice president of marketing and public relations for apartment complex developer Lance-Kashian & Co., told The Business Journal that the units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, each equipped with a refrigerator and microwave. 

Families started moving into Sarah’s Court last Friday, according to Kashian. 

Sarah’s Court is part of the Fancher Creek master plan, which Kashian referred to as a “20-minute neighborhood,” meaning that all shops will be within a short walk or bike ride for residents.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said the future shopping center would remind residents of River Park, another Lance-Kashian property. Fancher Creek Town Center will include Target, Sprouts Farmers Market, PetSmart, Michaels, In-N-Out Burger and more.

 

Plans also include adding a park and trail system, a police substation and a FAX bus rapid transit station. 

In October 2024, Kashian said that Target and Sprouts would be the first to open, possibly as early as this fall.

City officials, including Dyer and Fresno County Supervisors Luis Chavez and Nathan Magsig, emphasized the importance of expanding access to affordable housing in Fresno County amid the ongoing housing crisis.

“Housing isn’t just an issue, it’s the issue in America today,” Dyer said. “We’ve made that our No. 1 priority.”

Dyer stated that Fresno has facilitated the construction of over 1,500 affordable housing units in the past 15 months.

Both Chavez and Magsig shared personal experiences about the impact of affordable housing.

Chavez, a former Fresno City Councilmember for District 5—where Sarah’s Court is located—shared what it means to see an up-and-coming development in Southeast Fresno.

“We’re giving families a place to call home, and we’re changing the narrative because traditionally, these amenities have not been afforded to our folks on this side of town,” Chavez said. “At the end of the day, we do this for our families. We do this for our communities.”

Magsig shared a personal story about living in affordable housing as a college student after his family struggled financially due to his father’s passing.

“I found myself in an apartment for about four years, and that apartment not only allowed me to have a place where I could live, but I also was a college student at the time trying to finish up my degree in criminology, and if it wasn’t for that particular apartment, I don’t know where I would be,” Magsig said. “Now, more than ever, we need developments like Sarah’s Court.”