Photos: The five-acre campus for Marjaree Mason Center means an expansion of services for victims of domestic violence. Photo by Edward Smith.

Drawings and plans for a new facility for Marjaree Mason Center date as far back as 2000, says Nicole Linder, executive director for Fresno County’s only dedicated domestic violence shelter.

“There’s always been an attempt to expand because the demand from the community for services has far outweighed our physical capacity for years,” Linder said.

Last December, the nonprofit purchased the former Milan Institute building on Bullard Avenue near Maroa Avenue.

Now, the organization is in the process of design selection for their approximately $13 million rehab. Linder hopes to have it up and running by fall 2024. Once operational, it will allow the organization to consolidate a number of their Downtown Fresno facilities, though they will keep others throughout the County operating to continue providing access.

The 5 1/2-acre property will act similarly to an outpatient facility providing all non-residential services from 24/7 crisis response, mental health services, legal advice, a training facility, therapy space and specific services for children.

Work to expand began in 2018 after the organization received a grant from the Legacy Foundation to conduct a feasibility study as to what they need and what they could accomplish.

By April 2021, they were searching for a new building. Linder said they must have looked at 12 buildings before choosing the former school.

They needed something big enough, but the site also had to be able to serve the entire county. It had to be centrally located and accessible by freeway, bus and by foot.

Less than a mile from Highway 41 and even closer to the Blackstone Avenue corridor, the site checked off all the marks.

Linder says the new services they can offer children are a “game changer.” Currently, operating out of the former home of Louis Einstein — one of Fresno’s pioneers — they are limited on space. 

The new location will also let them conduct training for organizations and businesses in how to approach domestic violence, said Linder. In the past, they have used facilities with First Presbyterian Church, Clovis Police Department and RH Community Builders to conduct training seminars. When it opens, the new location will allow them to do training in house.

The building has an extensive history of its own. Sisters of St. Joseph in California purchased what was originally a poultry farm in then unincorporated land. Until 1976 it operated as Queen of the Valley Academy — a Catholic school for girls. It was purchased by New Life Christian Center, according to Fresno County documents. Linder said it operated as a Christian school.

Multiple tax liens were listed against New Life Christian Center. The property was sold back to the Sisters of St. Joseph who then sold it to Heald College in 1987 for $6.07 million, according to documents filed at the Fresno County Assessor’s Office.

Heald College closed in 2015 after its parent company Corinthian Colleges ran into trouble with the U.S. Department of Education for misrepresenting job placement rates.

It then became Milan Institute.

Linder said a lot of time was spent touring similar facilities throughout the state. What they wanted to see was how design could complement the services they provide.

Color, lighting and layout all affect perception and for someone experiencing trauma, having a space they feel safe in helps begin the healing process, Linder said.

“Our goal for this building is that the minute someone walks in the door is the first time they exhale,” Linder said.

A $4.7 million grant from Fresno County’s federal American Rescue Plan money moves the organization much closer to their $13 million target for the facility. Beyond that, the organization is funded largely by donations and they still have a “little bit of a ways to go,” Linder said.

While structurally sound, rehab does need to be done to HVAC systems as well as plumbing. Use will also have to be adapted for their needs.

During the Planning Commission meeting about the required rezone that allowed Marjaree Mason to operate there, some neighbors of the property expressed concern and a desire to be involved in any proposed use.

Others did not want to see the property be rezoned at all. Many of the letters to the Planning Commission surrounded any change from an educational use.

Linder said they’ve held community meetings discussing what it’s like to be a neighbor of Marjaree Mason Center.

Linder said since the announcement of the move, she has had a number of neighbors say they will do their part in making sure nobody will be trying to access the building who shouldn’t be.

“It’s been great to develop a rapport with our future neighbors,” Linder said.