Mayor Jerry Dyer cuts the ribbon on the Sierra Crossing development in Fresno on June 16, 2025. Photo by Ben Hensley

Young adults struggling with housing insecurity in Fresno will soon have a new opportunity with the grand opening Monday of Valley Teen Ranch’s Sierra Crossing, an affordable development dedicated to supporting at-risk youth in the Valley.

The facility boosts the number of youth aged 18 to 24 served by Valley Teen Ranch to more than 125 between its Transitional Living Home and Rapid Rehousing programs.

“When we stood here at the groundbreaking, this land held only potential,” said Andrea Evans, CEO of Valley Teen Ranch. “While we’re here to celebrate the finishing up of our building, what we’re really doing is laying a foundation for life.”

The new facility will be home to 95 affordable housing units, with 60 designated specifically for youth aged 18 to 24.

The center will feature a number of on-site programs, including mental health services, vocational and life skills training and community amenities such as laundry facilities and common areas. The community is secure and gated and sits less than two miles from Marketplace at El Paseo, one of Fresno’s fastest-growing retail centers.

“This journey began a little over two years ago with a shared dream to create a space that not only houses people but uplifts them,” Evans said. “What was once called the Welcome Home campus is now Sierra Crossing — a name that reflects transition, movement and hope.”

The center, which broke ground just over a year ago, saw the redesign of a nearby intersection — Polk and Sierra avenues — to accommodate the development. The project was completed thanks to partnerships between Valley Teen Ranch and the City of Fresno, which included $22 million from Homekey funding and an additional $2.8 million from City of Fresno American Rescue Plan funds.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer called the project “transformational.”

“When we talk about homelessness in our city, far too often we leave youth out of the equation,” he said.

Valley Teen Ranch received the Housing Hero Award at this year’s State of the City Address.

“You get to go to these events, these ribbon cuttings, throughout your career as an elected official, but rarely do you go to one where you realize ‘today we’re making a difference,’” said City Council President Mike Karbassi.

Move-ins are expected to begin in early July.