Empty space in Fresno’s Granite Park area slated for ‘all-inclusive care’ senior center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Planning Commission approved permit for a 20,000‑sq‑ft senior center near Granite Park.
- WelbeHealth plans clinic, therapy, dental and day‑room services; Council approval pending.
- Provider says center is much needed in Fresno, which has had a senior population boom.
A new senior healthcare center accessible to Medi-Cal beneficiaries — much needed in Fresno, says a local provider — is planned to go up just steps from Granite Park early as next year.
Fresno’s Planning Commission recently OK’d a development permit for a facility of up to 20,000 square feet at the southeast corner of Cedar Avenue and Hampton Way, out in front of Granite Park.
The building would host a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, known as the PACE program, designed for seniors who qualify for placement in nursing homes but would rather receive care during the day while still living in their own homes.
The center would be operated by WelbeHealth, a public benefit corporation that operates PACE centers across California, including an existing PACE facility in downtown Fresno.
“The need that we have here in Fresno County is just exorbitant,” Nicole Butler, WelbeHealth’s executive director, said during the Jan. 28 meeting. “This second building could not come fast enough for us.”
The facility at Granite Park would be the fourth overall PACE center in Fresno County, which experienced a spike in residents ages 65 and older in the previous decade as members of the Baby Boomer generation grew older, The Fresno Bee has reported.
The center still needs approval from the City Council. The goal is to begin construction this spring and complete the building by March 2027, said Kate Hirsch of Turner Capital Impact, an investment firm that partners with healthcare providers on their real estate needs.
If all goes as planned, the center could open its doors in late 2027, Hirsch said during the meeting.
What would new Fresno PACE center offer senior residents?
Hirsch said the building plans include a large day room where senior residents can socialize and eat. There will also be space for physical therapy, exercise and spa services, she said.
The building will also be equipped with a fully-functioning clinic with eight exam rooms and a dental room specifically for members of the PACE program.
Butler said the PACE program is designed to keep people out of hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities. Among other services, the program includes primary care doctors, transportation, physical therapists and home care for those who want to spend more time in their own homes rather than at the center. The PACE program is for seniors who require help but “are not quite at the end of life,” she said.
“People could join PACE and stay with us for six, seven, eight years,” Butler said. “They age with us, and we continue to provide the care.”
She said WelbeHealth employs team members who speak Spanish, as well as members from the Hmong community and three who speak Punjabi.
PACE providers are reimbursed through Medicare and Medi-Cal, but Butler said someone can access the program even if they are only enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Fresno County has great need for new senior healthcare center, provider says
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Fresno County’s population of residents ages 65 and older increased nearly 43% —almost 40,000 people — between 2010-2020. In the city of Fresno alone, the senior population rose almost 46% in that time span, according to a Bee analysis of federal data in 2023.
Butler said most PACE programs typically serve between 600-800 participants. In Fresno, WelbeHealth already serves 1,000 participants in the program, she said.
“That’s a ginormous program,” she said, adding that the Fresno PACE program is the “fastest-growing” in the state.
“We just want to continue the care, and we will have to cap the care that we provide most likely this year, until the new buildings are open,” Butler said.
