Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer announced May 12 a proposal that would provide the City with $250M for downtown improvements. Photo by Frank Lopez

A historic amount of funding might make its way to the City of Fresno pending a decision from the California Legislature.

Mayor Jerry Dyer held a press conference at Fresno City Hall on Friday to announce that Gov. Newsom has proposed to invest $250 million to the city for infrastructure to improve the downtown core after the governor’s May Budget Revision rollout.

To accelerate the revitalization of Downtown Fresno, and catalyze new housing, investments will go towards additional parking structures, green space, street and landscape investments, and replace aging infrastructure to create safer and walkable neighborhoods.

“This is a historic day for the City of Fresno,” Dyer said. “Great cities have great downtowns, and we are about ready to have a great downtown as long as this makes its way through the legislature, and they approve what governor is proposing in his May Revise.”

Dyer thanked the governor for the funding, and his confidence in the city, and said the investment will transform the downtown area.

Replacing the aging infrastructure will help with Dyer’s goal of growing the number of residents living in the core of downtown Fresno from 3,000 to 10,000.

$80 million will be invested in downtown revitalization, which will require several capital improvement projects to develop vacant land into vibrant housing and improve aging and insufficient local infrastructure.

To provide more parking for future residents that will call Downtown Fresno home, $70 million will go towards two parking structures, adding 2,000 more parking spaces to the existing 2,081 existing parking spaces in four City-owned parking structures.

With $20 million in investments, the city is proposing a new Intermodal Transit Center to provide residents and travelers with access to the city’s public transit system and other modes of transit.

$20 million in investments will go to roadway, sidewalk, street lighting, and landscape improvements along nearby streets, including Chinatown.

Stormwater infrastructure facilities on G Street from Fresno Street to Divisadero will be improved with $25 million in investments.

Downtown water distribution and wastewater collection systems will be improved with $10 million in investments each.

$15 million will go to pocket parks and linear parks along key transit and commercial corridors to provide green spaces for downtown residents and visitors.

Discussions for the $250 million in funding began in August 2022, when Gov. Newsom announced $2 billion would be available for infrastructure in California, which included federal and state dollars.

Dyer said he is confident the legislature will pass the governor’s proposal.