Downtown Fresno landmark joining the business revolution

Workspace Fresno, a new downtown Fresno office space for “creators, collaborators and dreamers,” will open Thursday in the landmark Pacific Southwest Building at 1060 Fulton Street, at the intersection of Fulton and the Mariposa Mall.

Building owner Sevak Khatchadourian began renovations on the third and fourth floors of the 16-story building more than a year ago. Now the third floor is ready for occupancy, while more work is in line for the fourth floor.

Workspace features a largely open floor plan with individual workstations that are available by membership or for day-pass rentals, as well as private offices and a conference room. The space, Khatchadourian said, is intended to foster an atmosphere for creative entrepreneurs.

It’s a concept first popularized in Fresno by Hashtag Fresno, which offered its members access to a place where they could mingle and collaborate on ideas. Hashtag has since become part of Bitwise Industries and moved to the Bitwise South Stadium building at Van Ness and Inyo streets. Khatchadourian’s Workspace adds to the available options for solo entrepreneurs or small startup companies and strives to provide an upscale atmosphere in an iconic building.

“I’m trying to be modest, but I think it’s going to be one of the best places in Fresno to work. It’s a lifestyle we’re creating in this building,” Khatchadourian said. “This downtown needs some creative minds, so we’re opening up this creative office space and we’ll be opening up a second-floor cafe. We’re doing things and making things happen.”

The opening comes as the city of Fresno continues its work to transform the Fulton Mall – converted from a street to a pedestrian-only mall in the early 1960s – back into Fulton Street with two-way automobile traffic. The street restoration work on the six-block stretch between Inyo and Tuolumne streets began earlier this year and is expected to be completed next summer.

Thursday’s opening from 5 to 10 p.m. will be part of downtown Fresno ArtHop events, following a ribbon-cutting and reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday evening. Details: 559-441-7777.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Downtown Fresno landmark joining the business revolution."