From left, State Center Community College District Carole Goldsmith, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, The Penstar Group's Scott Anderson, Sen. Alex Padilla and Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval look over plans for the Bank of Italy building, planned home for F3 Innovate. Photo by Gabriel Dillard

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Assistant Commerce Secretary Alejandra Castillo were joined by a who’s who of state and local electeds and dignitaries Friday morning to celebrate $88 million in federal grants coming to the Central Valley via the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) and Build Back Better initiatives.

They were hosted at a news conference in front of downtown’s Bank of Italy building on Fulton Street, which is envisioned as the future home of the iCREATE technology hub as part of F3.

After a tour of the Yo’Ville community farm near Edison High School, the group spoke at a news conference to applaud the Central Valley Community Foundation and Fresno County Economic Development Corp. — the applicants of the two grants totaling $88.1 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

“That’s going to change our world forever,” said Lee Ann Eager, president and CEO of the Fresno EDC, which secured $23 million for its Central Valley Built 4 Scale initiative to train 2,500 residents for industrial, transportation and logistics jobs.

 

The F3 Coalition secured $65.1 million to create a cluster for ag and food tech innovation led by local universities and community colleges. Ashley Swearengin, president and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, said the effort will result in a 40% increase in regional gross domestic product.

The theme of the event: Fresno and the Central Valley has come into its own as a national and even global economic force.

“It’s time the region that feeds the nation is the nation’s priority,” Swearengin said.

Part of the F3 initiative would be the establishment of the Innovation Center for Research and Entrepreneurship in Ag Food Technology & Engineering (iCREATE). The event was held in front of the vacant Bank of Italy building, which is envisioned as the future home of iCREATE.

That would be a ways off, as no lease has been signed for the possible 35,000-40,000 square-feet the innovation center could possibly take residence in the Bank of Italy.

Erected in 1917 by San Francisco-based Bank of Italy, which became Bank of America in 1930, the eight-story structure was once the center of Fresno’s financial universe. It became vacant in the early 1970s, and was acquired by Fresno developer Tom Richards in 2009.

It has sought a marquee tenant ever since that would spur a full-scale renovation of the building.