Voters and elected officials adopt policies on assurances of beneficial impacts, but they often interact with other decrees to produce what are called “unintended consequences.” Redevelopment has been a classic example for nearly seven decades, and it may be on the verge of another twist. Redevelopment, authorized in the early...
What's Holding Up Start of $38M Affordable Housing Project?
The funding is in place. The permits are being lined up. Soon, Jake Lingo hopes to demolish a group of industrial buildings in central Fresno and start building a $38 million mixed-use project. A health clinic will be on the first floor. The remaining three stories will house 88 apartments,...
Walters: Should California Revive Redevelopment?
An anything-is-possible attitude enveloped post-World War II America, fueling ambitious undertakings such as a nationwide network of freeways, nuclear power so inexpensive that it wouldn’t need to be metered, and exploring outer space. It also spawned what was called “redevelopment,” a tool that would, it was said, clean up inner...
This Tiny Redlands Home Once Hosted Thanksgiving for 50
On Thanksgiving, I wish I were back at the tiny house at 830 Ohio Street, in one of the oldest sections of one of the Inland Empire’s oldest cities, Redlands. It was there that I spent Turkey Day as a kid. Somehow, 50 or more of my relatives would squeeze...
Blackstone Avenue Housing Proposal Faces Criticism
A $38 million affordable housing project proposed for Blackstone and McKinley is drawing skepticism from Fresno City Councilmember Steve Brandau. The publicly funded project envisions two multi-story apartment buildings at a three-acre site near Fresno City College. The ground floor of each building would be reserved for retail and other...
Blackstone Avenue Housing Proposal Faces Criticism
A $38 million affordable housing project proposed for Blackstone and McKinley is drawing skepticism from Fresno City Councilmember Steve Brandau. The publicly funded project envisions two multi-story apartment buildings at a three-acre site near Fresno City College. The ground floor of each building would be reserved for retail and other...