New digital day dawns for The Fresno Bee in new downtown location
The Fresno Bee’s move to the Bitwise 41 building happens Monday, when employees show up for their first day of work in a sparkling new office on the opposite side of downtown.
The Bee’s suite on the top floor of the building now serves as the home base for all of its operations. The address is 2721 Ventura St., Fresno, CA 93721.
It’s been a whirlwind few days for our staff. Thursday was the final day in the old E Street facility, which served us well for more than 40 years. News never takes a day off, so reporters and editors worked from a conference room on the first floor of the new building through the weekend while movers and IT professionals made the space fully functional.
Some work remains. Fresno Bee signage on the building is not yet in place; this is a few weeks out. And we’re sure to discover unanticipated issues as we set up our desks Monday morning.
To say we’re excited is an understatement. Bitwise has done a tremendous job transforming the massive former Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant into a modern workspace with the latest amenities. It fits The Bee’s present and future as a digital news organization.
The Bee is a true digital-first operation — a newsgathering powerhouse and a digital marketing and advertising agency that helps connect businesses with customers. The new location — with modern furnishings, floor-to-ceiling murals and video boards displaying the latest analytics — befits this reality.
We’re also excited to mingle with the building’s other tenants, which will enrich our understanding of Fresno’s growing technology and innovation culture. Bitwise serves as its epicenter. We’re thrilled to have a seat at the table.
Publisher Tim Ritchey and I both believe that The Bee is where it belongs: in the downtown core, within walking distance of public offices, restaurants and nightlife options.
The move comes amid an exciting time for The Bee, which is using philanthropy to help pay for important local journalism. We recently launched Education Lab, a four-person journalism project that’s producing solutions-oriented journalism about our region’s education challenges. As of Monday, the Ed Lab will be at full staff. And we recently announced Fresnoland Lab, which will cover important issues of land use, growth/development, water and public policy. The Fresnoland Lab jobs are advertised and we’re interviewing potential candidates.
Monday will be a busy day of unpacking and getting acquainted to new surroundings. When the dust settles, we plan to host a community open house to show off our new digs. As always, thank you for reading The Bee.
At a glance
The Fresno Bee’s new location
Physical and mailing address: 2721 Ventura St., Suite 239, Fresno CA 93721
All phone and email addresses remain the same
