Heritage Estates is a 33-home development in Southwest Fresno designed to help working families achieve homeownership and build generational wealth. Photo by Dylan Gonzales

Fresno Housing hosted a ribbon cutting Wednesday to celebrate the official opening of Heritage Estates, a 33-home development in Southwest Fresno designed to help working families achieve homeownership and build generational wealth.

The new single-family community includes homes reserved for first-time homebuyers earning between 50% and 80% of the area median income, along with three market-rate homes in a mixed-income neighborhood. 

Through a partnership with Fresno Housing and the City of Fresno, qualified homeowners can apply for a mortgage assistance program at Heritage Estates.

In order to qualify, the prospective homeowner must be a first-time home buyer, a Fresno county resident, complete a homeownership education program, fall under less than 80% of the Fresno area median income and put up 1% of the purchase price in cash.

“This project is unique,” said Fresno Housing CEO Tyrone Roderick Williams. “I don’t know any other projects where individuals could qualify for up to $250,000 in down payment assistance. We are celebrating something truly special — 33 homes in a mixed-income neighborhood where individuals at all ends of the income spectrum can live next door to each other and call the houses home.”

Williams praised his team at Fresno Housing for helping him navigate the requirements to help families qualify for homeownership.

“They are doing God’s work to make this happen,” he said.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer called Heritage Estates a “great day for the city of Fresno,” and highlighted its role in helping revitalize Southwest Fresno, a historically underserved area.

In July, Dyer and Self-Help Enterprises, another Central Valley homebuilder, celebrated the opening of 17 new homes on Florence avenue, just down the street from Heritage Estates.

“We are celebrating progress and opportunity — progress in meeting our housing crisis head on and an opportunity for families to fulfill the American dream of homeownership,” he said.

Dyer said the city invested over $4.4 million in the project.

Many of the speakers, while noting affordable apartments are great for families looking to find a place in the short term, noted that nothing compares to being a homeowner.

“Instead of investing in someone else’s investment, you’re investing in yourself and your family, and for generations, you will start to build your own American dream,” Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco said.

City Councilmember Miguel Arias credited residents for demanding homeownership opportunities. 

“West Fresno deserves to be able to go from renters to owners in our own neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s not a thank you—it’s more of an apology. We should have done this sooner.”