Fresno Unified School District purchased the former Fresno County Department of Social Services office at 2011 Fresno St. for $8.55 million. Photo by Gabriel Dillard

After nearly a year of negotiations, Fresno Unified School District is preparing to move into a new Downtown Fresno building that will accommodate student program growth.

The building at 2011 Fresno St. was renovated six years ago at the corner of Fulton and Fresno streets. The building offers four floors totaling 47,824 square feet and a parking lot for expanding programs in the school district.

Work has been ongoing on the office for the last couple weeks or so, with new paint and signage installed over the weekend.

 

The purchase price was $8.55 million to seller John S. Foggy Trust and the Ellis Family Partnership III, according to a Fresno Unified agreement.

The building was previously occupied by the Fresno County Department of Social Services, which consolidated to a campus in Clovis in 2020.

The new property will house the district’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program and the Prevention and Intervention (DPI) Department, said Fresno Unified Director of Communications Diana Diaz.

“With the vast growth that our DPI has undergone in the past decade and considering that mental health continues to be a top priority for our families, we know that the additional facility space will be essential for us to keep providing our students with critical social and emotional support and other needed resources,” said Diaz.

Elliot Balch, president, and CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership, is excited to welcome more Fresno Unified employees downtown.

“It’s great to have about 300 employees coming into that building, and they’ll be walking distance to restaurants and other businesses on and around Fulton Street,” said Balch. “That’s going to be great for them and those businesses, and we’re excited to have them join our downtown community.”