The property at 517 N. Farris Ave in the South Tower District is 796 square feet and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The home is listed at $215,000 and available for buyers earning under 120% of the area median income. Photo by Dylan Gonzales

A major milestone in Fresno housing took place Wednesday morning as the South Tower Community Land Trust (CLT) listed its first home for sale, launching the start of a community focused model for long term housing stability. 

The property at 517 N. Farris Ave in the South Tower District is 796 square feet and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The home is listed at $215,000 and available for buyers earning under 120% of the area median income. 

The fully renovated home features a new roof, energy efficient air conditioning and remodeled kitchen and bathrooms.

Under the South Tower CLT model, the nonprofit retains ownership of the land while only selling the home to the future buyer — who will sign a 99-year renewable ground lease agreement. 

In exchange for the lower purchase price, homeowners agree to sell the property at an affordable rate to future qualified buyers, keeping the property permanently affordable.

“We’re not just doing housing, we’re building community along with homes,” said Kiel Lopez-Schmidt, the executive director of the South Tower CLT. “We’re building affordable homes that are embedded within a community and a community of amenities that are really going to make people’s lives better for the long term.” 

 

Joe Haydock, co‑chair of the Fresno Association of Realtors’ Fair Housing and Diversity Committee, noted that the home is intended for local residents who will live there.

“This home will go on the market later today, and it will not be purchased by investors,” Haydock said. “It will be purchased by buyers, a family, a group of people, a single individual who meets certain income limits and is able and willing to sign this 99‑year land lease so that they own the home. They have housing security, they build equity, but we effectively make this home a home — not just a way to try to build some kind of exploitative wealth.”

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, who grew up nearby and is a childhood friend of Lopez-Schmidt, spoke on the importance of South Tower CLT joining more than 40 CLTs statewide, supporting 1,600 housing units and 3,500 residents.

“This is the first example that we can do here in South Tower. But many homes just like this need to be renovated, that need to be rehabilitated, that need community members, neighbors looking after those of us that still live in these neighborhoods,” Arambula said.