Gavin Newsom’s budget plan makes good on $100M promise for downtown Fresno upgrades
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Newsom proposes final $100M for Fresno downtown infrastructure despite $2.8B deficit.
- Funds would fulfill $250M pledge, following $150M plus separate $43.7M grant received.
- City officials link upgrades to housing, high-speed rail and a 5,000-seat stadium plan.
Despite facing a projected $2.8 billion deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal for next year includes the remaining $100 million pledged for infrastructure upgrades in downtown Fresno.
The proposal, filed as legislation last week, has a long path ahead as lawmakers work to approve a balanced 2026-2027 budget by the June 15 deadline. But if the money for downtown Fresno remains, it would be the final installment of the $250 million Newsom promised the city in 2023.
The city needs the funds to install infrastructure that accommodates the housing boom leaders are hoping for as downtown awaits the arrival of a California High-Speed Rail station. City officials also announced Tuesday they have started working with the United Soccer League to bring a new stadium and professional team to downtown.
City officials say the infrastructure upgrades will incentivize development by cutting costs for builders.
Based on his conversations with the state, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer told The Bee he’s “confident these funds will be delivered.”
“This funding is critical to completing the major upgrades already underway and will help move forward improvements in downtown Fresno that make new housing possible and support long-term revitalization,” he said Wednesday in a statement. “We’re grateful that the Governor is following through on his commitment.”
Fresno has so far received $150 million of the money Newsom promised for downtown in 2023 — plus a separate $43.7 million infrastructure grant. The city has been installing new sewer and water mains, sidewalks and streetlights in downtown and Chinatown. The previous $100 million installment is paying for two new parking garages and a short-term loan fund to help area housing developers cover the financing gaps their apartment projects face.
Dyer said Tuesday, during the city’s soccer announcement, that the city is now looking to expand the infrastructure renovations to the northern part of downtown, along Fulton Street, “in the first quarter of this year.”
Infrastructure work ‘has prepared us’ for professional soccer in Fresno
City officials have said the downtown infrastructure work paid for by the state means prospective builders will not have to bear those costs themselves.
On Tuesday, they announced their agreement with the United Soccer League intends to bring a stadium of at least 5,000 seats to downtown or Chinatown, where a professional team would play.
District 3 City Councilmember Miguel Arias said during the announcement that downtown infrastructure work underway — including high-speed rail over-and-underpass construction — “makes a stadium in downtown or Chinatown extremely attractive.”
The investments have “prepared us to accommodate and grow professional soccer in the city of Fresno,” he said.
