River Park’s Joann is coming down. Will Fresno shopping center get more parking?
The big, empty Joann fabric and crafts store in River Park is headed for demolition.
Once a permit is approved, the building at Blackstone and Nees avenues in one of the most congested parking lots in town will be torn down.
The store closed earlier this year, along with about 800 others nationwide, after the company filed for bankruptcy.
The 35,000-square-foot building was built in 2005, said Tracy Kashian, senior vice president of marketing and public relations.
Fresno-based Bowen Engineering & Environmental has fenced off the property and is preparing to tear it down.
“That building has served its purpose and we want to put something new there,” Kashian said. “It is definitely like a Joann’s in there. I don’t see too much going in there. It’s pretty big.”
Nationwide, big-box stores have been closing in recent years. In Fresno, Forever 21 and Big Lots have closed, among others.
What about parking?
At River Park Plaza, a new building will be built in its place. But Lance Kashian executives, which manage all the River Park properties, haven’t decided what will go in there yet.
“It will probably be a smaller building with a little bit more parking,” Kashian said. “That’s always been an issue in that lot.”
They are looking at restaurants and retailers.
“We’re just looking at what’s the hot thing,” she said.
The shopping center is also home to Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Westwoods BBQ & Spice Co., Chipotle Mexical Grill and more.
The Chick-fil-A drive-thru was voted the worst drive-thru in town in 2021 by Fresno Bee readers, mostly because of the way traffic backed up during the pandemic. The owner of Westwoods went public with his complaints about it blocking parking for customers.
The restaurant has since added another drive-thru lane. It is currently closed as it undergoes renovations to add a double drive-thru, Kashian said.
