Fresno Councilmember Taylor Maxwell speaks as fellow Councilmember Nelson Esparza looks on July 2022 at a news conference to announce the purchase of a former Vons site. Photo by Edward Smith

At a special Monday meeting, the Fresno City Council approved an agreement to purchase a vacant building in Central Fresno with the hopes of turning it into the first City-owned senior center of its kind.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer hopes construction can begin on what is planned to be a 30,000 senior-exclusive center in the beginning of 2024.

The nearly 40,000 square foot retail space — formerly a Vons — would have to be demolished first. Dyer said they would begin doing outreach in the fall to ask seniors what they want.

“I want our seniors to think big, we will figure out a way in the City of Fresno to design it and pay for it,” Dyer said.

City of Fresno to weigh purchase of former Vons store

The City purchased the property for $6.46 million, using $4.99 million in Community Development Block Grants.

Dyer said the project would cost north of $20 million, but he said the source of that money has not yet been identified. He did say Measure P money was a possibility. Measure P was approved by voters to improve and expand parks and public spaces.

A project description filed with the City of Fresno outlined the creation of a 70-unit, 33,000 square foot affordable housing development at the same parcel as the senior center, but city officials only commented on the center. The plan at the time being is only for a senior center.

The purchase of the property also came with an outdoor strip mall, something Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell said was part of the package. Maxwell — whose district the property lies within — said a study into deferred maintenance on the strip mall had not been done yet. There are no plans to change anything with the six-unit space that includes an O’Reilly Auto Parts. Four of the six units are occupied.

Maxwell said the location was ideal because of its proximity to Bus Rapid Transit. This would be the first City-owned senior center of its kind, Maxwell said.

Conversations with private developers had been had throughout the years, but the decision was made that a City-owned property would be the fastest way of getting the project done.

“If this is going to get done, somebody is going to have to do it and that somebody is going to have to be us,” Maxwell said.