Housing developers broke ground on a new $4.7 million motel rehabilitation in downtown Fresno for workforce housing. What sets this project apart though is cost per unit, said Michael Duarte, CEO of Better Opportunities Builder and chief real estate officer of Fresno Housing.

Better Opportunities will turn the long vacant Econo Inn on Broadway Street into 25 units of workforce housing, designed for people who make 60% to 80% of the area’s median income. The nonprofit is calling the project the Mosaic @ The Mural District. Duarte said they plan to open by November.

He said the pricing fits many entry-level positions in downtown. They aim for working families who make too much money for the most subsidized housing but still struggle paying rent — typically in the $37,000 to $50,000 salary range.

“That’s why it’s important for us to develop here where you can work, play, and enjoy different entertainment and employment opportunities,” Duarte said.

Unit Cost Less Than Half of Typical Affordable Housing Projects

The $188,000-per-unit cost comes in half of many other developments. Next door to the Mosaic, the Villages at Broadway — developed by Fresno Housing — cost nearly twice as much, Duarte said. The units will still be comparable, he said.

Developers focused on being lean and coming up with efficient plans.

“When we normally get into affordable housing, it involves tax credits. That’s a very complicated process and different expenses and different mechanisms for financing,” Duarte said. “It’s a great tool, but it adds a lot of baggage.”

Being vacant since probably the 1970s, the units will require significant rehab, Duarte said.

The city committed $1.9 million from the American Rescue Plan and also waived $147,000 in impact fees, said Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer.

He said great downtowns need people living there so they can thrive beyond working hours.

“The Mosaic will help us to have a great downtown,” Dyer said. “Again, that is what we need here and so it gets us one step closer to having that great downtown.”

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said the Econo Inn has long been a site of human and drug trafficking.

“For the housing geeks, the word is called adaptive reuse, where you take something that’s being underutilized, invest some dollars in it and make it something useful and sustainable for modern demands,” Arias said. “I like to call it getting rid of the trash and replacing it with jewels.”

Better Opportunities a Familiar Downtown Fresno Player

Better Opportunities will develop the project, which it purchased five years ago. Fresno Housing will guarantee the loans.

Better Opportunities also developed the Phoenix at Calaveras and the Phoenix at Glenn, two other affordable housing projects.

Before becoming Better Opportunities, it was Housing Assistance Corporation, said Edward Stacy, board director.

Along with the Assemi Group, Housing Assistance helped bring some of the first housing developments to downtown Fresno in recent years, Stacy said.

They helped build the Vagabond Lofts and the H Street Lofts.

“Eventually, the word got out, young people who were artists, who were interested in micro businesses, started to move into the development and over time, it filled up,” Stacy said.