Downtown Fresno parking project gets underway. Will it affect planned July 4th events?
Fresno is expecting 20,000 people to revel at July 4 events downtown. The Fresno Grizzlies are expecting a record-breaking crowd for its baseball game that night followed by a fireworks show.
The good news is, the city broke ground on a new 900-stall parking garage across the street from Chukchansi Park, home of the Fresno Grizzlies minor league baseball team. The bad news is construction immediately takes nearly 200 spaces out of play.
Why didn’t the city just wait a few days to keep the spaces available?
“I guess we just didn’t plan very well. You know how the city is. We were supposed to start construction earlier, but we’re starting now,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said Wednesday with a laugh.
In the short term, Dyer suggests parking at the city’s other garages or using the free trolley service that will be in operation all day. In the long term, the new garage should ease parking issues and spur nearby development.
The Fresno City Council approved a $45 million contract with Irvine-based Bomel Construction Company to build the garage at H and Inyo streets. Dyer estimated the total project at $56 million. There is also another 600-space parking garage project under construction on North Fulton Street.
Councilmember Miguel Arias, who represents downtown, said he wants to keep parking fees from escalating during special events. The city was criticized recently by eventgoers when parking at meters and garages skyrocketed during special events at the stadium.
City receives $100 million from state budget
The groundbreaking comes a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the state budget, which includes $100 million more for downtown Fresno infrastructure. The money was the last part of a promised $250 million from the state.
Dyer anticipates more housing, with funding approved for The Park at South Stadium, an alleyway behind the stadium with 174 units; The Helm housing development with 98 units; and a future project next to the H & Inyo parking garage.
“When those residents move in, they’ll need places to eat, shop, gather, and enjoy downtown, and they’ll need safe streets, reliable utilities, and parking that supports a growing neighborhood, and that is exactly what we’re building," Dyer said. “We told the state we were shovel ready, and today we are proving it.”
Dyer plans to use the last round of state funding to build a park around the high-speed rail corridor, a transit center, funding for housing projects, and utility upgrades.
July 4 downtown
The city is planning a major America 250 celebration downtown Fresno. Events start Saturday at 10 a.m. on Mariposa Plaza, with several cultural performances.
Three museums — the Veterans Memorial Museum Legion of Valor (2425 Fresno Street, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Archive on Kern (2120 Kern Street, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and Chinatown Cultural Heritage Center (1526 Kern Street, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), will be open and free to attend.
The Fulton Street block party starts at 4 p.m. with Fresno local Ralph Edwards hosting a talent show and more musical performances. Edwards — runner-up on season 28 of NBC’s The Voice — returns at 8 p.m. to perform. There will also be a block party at Kern Plaza, starting at 6 p.m.
Edwards will also sing the National Anthem at the Grizzlies game — first pitch 7:05 p.m. The team will open the gates at no charge after the eighth inning to watch fireworks.
The Grizzlies also plan fireworks after games on July 2 and July 3 at the stadium.
