Omninet Capitol Managing Partner Benjamin Nazarian confirmed two national tenants, The Habit and Chipotle, will serve as anchors for a new retail and dining pad to be built on the west side of the center facing Blackstone Avenue.

In addition to the large national tenants, an area called the marketplace, located in the old Gottschalks building, will house a variety of local eateries including Rocket Dog Brats and Brew, Med Wraps Café, Green’s Family Grill and Yummyz Street Treats.

An events plaza, to be located in the parking lot near Regal Manchester Stadium Cinemas 16, is also in the works.

The marketplace and new pad should be completed by spring 2017, but Nazarian said this is just phase one.

“This will be a multi-year renovation so we appreciate your patience,” Nazarian said. “The reality is we have open stores and existing office tenants and we can’t get in the way of their business and their operations, so we’re doing this mythodically and that will take a little bit longer than any of us would like. We expect the first phase to open in the spring of 2017 and we’re very excited about that.”

Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin said reviving the city’s first mall is a giant step toward the city’s overall revitalization efforts.

“Remember that Blackstone Avenue is the most trafficked street not just in Fresno, not just in the Fresno metropolitan area or in Fresno County, but in all of Central California. It is the most trafficked corridor,” Swearengin said. “There are more transit riders on Blackstone Avenue, not just in Fresno or Fresno metro or Fresno County, but in all of Central California this is the most heavily used transit corridor in the entire region. It makes perfect sense that the spine of our city would be the focus of our revitalization efforts.”

Fresno councilman Clint Olivier, jokingly dubbed “Lord Blackstone” due to his unwavering support for revitalization efforts along Blackstone Avenue, also praised Omninet’s plans for Manchester.

“This is a sign that the tide has officially turned,” Olivier said. “Private investment is on its way and retailers are on their way and it is because of the visionaries we have from Omninet and in the city of Fresno.”

Nazarian noted that securing national tenants Chipotle and The Habit is a critical step for the center’s development.

“I cannot tell you how many times people said you will never get national tenants to come south of Shaw,” Nazarian said. “This dispels that myth.”

Nazarian said existing national anchor tenant, Sears, has already shown the vitality of the Manchester location, as it is one of the most successful Sears stores in the nation. Regal Manchester Stadium Cinemas 16 is also thriving, he said.

While improvements in retail, dining and entertainment are the focus of this phase, Nazarian noted that the center will remain mixed use.

“We have an office component that is already anchored by CalTrans, UEI, the DMV and Workforce Connection,” he said. “That brings thousands of people to this location every single day and that provides foot traffic for our retail. It is hard to find that anywhere else, especially during the work week.”

Additionally, Crescent View West Charter School recently expanded to the south side of the center and a new police station is set to open within two weeks.

Aside from creating new entertainment and retail spaces within the center, Omninet also plans to make the project environmentally friendly by having solar panels installed on the Manchester Center roof.  

Manchester Mall General Manager Mo Bagunu said he’s excited to see the long-awaited project underway.

“The great Walt Disney says if you can dream it, you can do it, and we dreamt it and it has been a labor of love and it’s exciting to see it come to fruition,” Bagunu said.