Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer’s landmark senior center is moving forward even though the nearby housing portion has halted.

The state recently passed over the application for $15 million in essential tax credits to help build senior housing near Ashlan and Blackstone avenues at the highly anticipated Fresno Senior Activity Center, said Jake Lingo, senior vice president of Integrated Community Development.

In 2023, the city contracted with Integrated Community Development to build the senior center at the old Vons.

Despite the city’s contract calling for both housing and the senior center, Lingo said the senior center is moving forward. It is nearing the end of plan check now, he said. Lingo did not have a timeline for the project.

The housing project would have been at the adjacent strip mall.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2023 guaranteed a $20 million loan to build the senior center.

Lingo said affordable housing credits have become increasingly competitive.

“It’s tough out there right now on the development community,” Lingo said.

Company Involved in Several Affordable Projects in Fresno

The 30,000-square-foot center will be a place for seniors to gather, exercise, play games, and socialize. Plans to build one go back to the late 1990s.

But when news came out that the state had denied the application, Dyer said at a Fresno City Council meeting that it jeopardized the entire project.

“There’s been a pause and a delay in the development of the senior center and part of that has to do with the financial impact of not having both projects done collectively,” Dyer said.

City officials then stopped public discussion about what was happening after a possible Brown Act violation.

The city committed $15 million contingent on the tax credit million being rewarded.

At the April council meeting, the city also awarded Integrated Community Development a $5 million loan to build a 54-unit affordable farmworker housing project in southeast Fresno.

The city matched a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Cesar Chavez Apartments.

The company also opened The Link @ Blackstone near Blackstone and McKinley avenues.

The Clinton Avenue Apartments less than a mile away will be opening in the next couple weeks, Lingo said.

Affordable Housing Credits Becoming More Competitive

Affordable housing construction could get more difficult with shrinking government budgets, said Tyrone Roderick Williams, president and CEO of Fresno Housing, at the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation’s recent real estate forecast.

“This is going to be a challenging year from a financial standpoint,” Williams said. “At the federal level, things are in such a state of flux that we’re waiting to see the dust settle before we can get a real idea of what we’re going to be able to expect at the federal level.”

Affordable housing construction relies on public funding to subsidize construction costs, he said. The working state budget doesn’t have much in terms of affordable housing funds compared to previous years.

State legislators have proposed a $10 billion bond for new projects and rehabilitation under Senate Bill 417. Voters would have to approve the bill in the June 2, 2026 statewide general election.

“This is going to be an effort for the next 15 to 20 years, that’s problematic, but that’s the realistic answer to where we are,” Williams said. “And it really depends on funding.”