DOWNTOWN FRESNO: Revitalizing the Urban Core
By Richard Deaver
Rowell Building - Fresno
Cities both large and small are reevaluating how they manage growth to not only preserve natural resources, but also keep their downtowns alive. Many have already been successful in bringing about change in the way they plan for inevitable growth and bringing residents and retail stores back to their downtowns and others are still in the planning or implementation stages.
Fresno has been looking at this problem for a number of years and has tried more than once to alter the way we continue to grow away from the urban core. As Fresno’s population increases, so does the need for affordable housing as developers continue to expand the city’s boundaries to keep up with demand – some say at the cost of valuable agricultural land. A recent Wall Street Journal article (August 15, 2009) provides information on a troubling trend that underscores this problem, which states; “Of new housing today, 80% is built in suburbs – the direct legacy of federal policy that favored outlying areas rather than the rehabilitation of city centers”.
Downtown Fresno has been one of the most obvious victims of this outward growth insofar as the citizens of Fresno tend to shop and dine near their homes and stay away from downtown unless they work there, need to conduct business, or are attending a special event. Anyone who lives in Fresno knows after 5:00 PM the area pretty much becomes a ghost town. With the exception of a few infill projects, almost 100% of Fresno’s housing is being built in the suburbs on what was once considered rural land. This is a trend that can, and must be reversed.
As retailers moved north during the late 1960’s and 1970’s, downtown became an afterthought for most shoppers with the opening of Fashion Fair. Over time, most of the larger retailers exited downtown for the suburbs and soon many of the smaller stores either followed suit or simply shut their doors. Even today new entrepreneurs are trying, and often failing, to open new stores and restaurants downtown hoping to make a difference, but without patrons it’s impossible to stay in business – especially in today’s challenging economic environment.
The overall impact has been an ongoing process of new proposals for ways to bring people back downtown. Some have been better than others, but most have fallen well short of their intended goal.
Having been a proponent of downtown revitalization and especially the Fulton Mall for years, I have watched the decline and whenever a new proposal was floated; I’d get a little excited that maybe this time something can really happen. Even as far back as 1979 I was hoping to reverse the mass exodus and came up with a design to build an enclosed, six-story shopping center at the south end of the mall on a vacant lot and using the mostly empty multi-story parking garage as part of the development. It was designed around an open atrium with a food court on the lower floor. Large trees, lush landscaping and fountains inside and walls of glass with an over-street pedestrian bridge connected to the parking garage were just a few of the features I felt were necessary to get people excited about downtown again.
People thought I was crazy. Maybe I was or maybe the idea was ahead of its time. Who knows what might have happened if something like that had been built, but at the time my idea fell on deaf ears.
One reason I came up with the concept in the first place is that I’ve always felt the Fulton Mall was too long as a pedestrian-only retail district. At one time, city-operated trams would shuttle people around, but no longer. While we are blessed with a mostly moderate climate in the valley, the summer heat can be withering and when the fog and cold damp air sets in each winter, an open air six-block long retail district will see limited foot traffic especially when other options exist.
Third Street Promenade - Santa Monica
There are numerous examples I can cite, but one that stands out in its similarity to the Fulton Mall is The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. The major difference is that The Third Street Promenade is a highly successful open air urban retail district that is only three blocks long. Major retailers, restaurants and a movie theater peacefully coexist with residential housing along the promenade virtually guaranteeing the merchants a built-in client base. Santa Monica Place, once an enclosed shopping mall anchoring the south end of the promenade, is being converted into an open air shopping mall. But even with this added outdoor space, the overall footprint remains fairly compact since much of the retail space at Santa Monica Place is vertical rather than spread out over a large area.
Since this is in downtown Santa Monica, one would think the area had always been a retail haven due to it being only three blocks from the ocean, but that is not the case.
This part of Third Street was once run down and had vagrants occupying many of the vacant structures. Old, crumbling buildings have been restored or repurposed for new uses and new buildings erected in addition to well designed free-standing shops and kiosks in the center of the mall. Today, it attracts locals and tourists alike and has a vibrant nightlife even on weeknights.
The Fulton Mall can enjoy the same success, but it will require bringing all the stakeholders together and assembling a team of visionaries to put a workable plan in place. Yes, there will be naysayers. There always have been and always will be, but that’s where the political will to make things happen comes into play. Strong leadership coupled with a solid plan assembled by the city, property owners, mall merchants and interested citizens is critical to downtown’s success.
Where to Begin
Getting back to the length of the Fulton Mall, I believe at least a portion should be opened to vehicle traffic. My suggestion; open the two blocks between Tulare and Fresno Street. You can make it one-way traffic and still preserve pedestrian areas. The sidewalks can be made wide enough to accommodate outdoor seating at restaurants along this two block strip.
This view won’t make me popular with the people who want to preserve the mall as-is due to its historic value, but even successful shopping districts have to change and upgrade to keep shoppers coming. Every successful shopping center developer knows this. Fashion Fair reinvented itself by adding the lifestyle center at the main entrance with great success; Sierra Vista Mall has also added new stores and redesigned the enclosed mall to create excitement. The citizens simply cannot allow the Fulton Mall to continue its decline if they truly want to see Fresno become a great city and downtown become a place where people spend their time and money.
With regard to past proposals that created a grand vision for downtown, but would require years of planning and even longer to become a reality; I would first place the primary redevelopment focus of the Fulton Mall on the two blocks between Tulare and Inyo to the south. The city recently spent nearly one million dollars dressing up Kern Street between the Convention Center Exhibit Hall and Chukchansi Park and this is the most logical area to begin since a number of new restaurants have either opened or are planned within close proximity.
Fremont Street
Experience
One concept I would like to see considered might seem to be far-fetched and possibly received along the lines of how the downtown lake idea floated by former-Mayor Autry was, but I believe creating something dynamic is extremely important to capture the imagination of the public as to what is possible.
If you’ve ever been to downtown Las Vegas along Fremont Street you’ll understand what I’m describing. Once the heart of gambling, downtown Las Vegas became a seedy district because most of the new hotels and casinos were being built along the Strip, not unlike how downtown Fresno lost shoppers as the city moved north.
Several years ago, the Fremont Street Experience was built with an overhead digital video display system unlike any other in the world. The four-block long 90-foot canopy now features state-of-the-art LED technology that creates a myriad of eye-popping color combinations and live-action video.
Vehicle traffic was discontinued converting the street into a pedestrian mall and entertainment district lined with unique retail shopping kiosks and two permanent performance stages. Free concerts, special events, and roaming street performers entertain visitors throughout the year making this a must-visit destination.
Other Examples
The Cordish Companies headquartered in Baltimore, MD has been a major redeveloper of downtowns with the primary emphasis on creating dining, shopping and entertainment districts coupled with a residential component and hotels. They have a number of new developments that use a successful form
ula focused on the entertainment district aspect of their projects – some built and others in development with names like Daytona Live!, Power Plant Live!, Indiana Live!, Philly Live!, Fourth Street Live! and so on that can also be looked at as potential models for the Fulton Mall.
Another example of a downtown entertainment district is in Austin, TX where Sixth Street is famous for being the heart of the music scene. Austin bills itself as the “Live Music Capital of the World” and based on the numerous venues where you can listen to bands playing a variety of styles, the name is pretty accurate.
In addition to its live music, Austin is also becoming known for its sustainable buildings downtown. In the mid-1990’s, a city department called Resource Management worked toward greater energy and water resource conservation in an effort to become more “green”. The goal: to create LEED-like guidelines for the city’s redevelopment efforts. They also included sustainability initiatives that limits the percentage of impervious cover—such as parking lots or buildings—that can be placed on any parcel of real estate. This requires that a certain percentage of land remain available for absorption.
To accomplish this while allowing new building to occur in downtown Austin, part of the requirement was to design each project to use renewable and sustainable materials and to also include rooftop gardens to help meet their goals. Designs also had to increase the density with mixed uses such as offices, hotel, retail, housing and restaurants, so people will not have to leave their neighborhood for services.
What We Can Do
The City of Fresno Downtown & Community Revitalization Department headed by Craig Scharton is working on several plans that encompass the entire urban core as well as the Fulton Mall. Their goal is to also create an entertainment district in this part of the mall so it is conceivable that some of the ideas incorporated in the various “Live!” venues can also be considered for the Fulton Mall.
Growth is inevitable, so simply restricting expansion into rural areas to force building downtown is not the answer. We must also make it attractive for developers to create new projects while at the same time incorporating all of the necessary elements to draw residents downtown.
The concepts I’ve described may seem outlandish for Fresno, but consider the following:
• By keeping the initial redevelopment efforts to the two block area on Fulton between Tulare and Inyo, you concentrate all of the development dollars and make a much greater impact by creating a sense of place.
• When special events are scheduled downtown such as sporting events, conventions, trade shows, and more, activities can be planned under a video canopy either before or afterward and images associated with those events can be shown overhead on the video display creating a festive atmosphere.
• Imagine the impact to the restaurants, clubs and merchants in the area when you have hundreds and even thousands of people after a game at Chukchansi Park when the party continues under a colorful video canopy possibly showing highlights of the game. The same thing can occur with people congregating on the mall in conjunction with virtually every event, convention, trade show or game held in downtown Fresno.
With a vibrant shopping, dining and nightlife district, you will also open the door to downtown housing – presumably right above or surrounding the stores and restaurants – creating a walkable neighborhood similar to those found all over San Francisco and other large cities. Once completed, this same neighborhood concept can then be repeated throughout downtown Fresno, albeit with something other than a video canopy and entertainment district as the primary hook.
The underlying goal should be to create an overall plan, but make it flexible to incorporate new ideas or changes based on market needs. With this plan, do not try to make sweeping changes all at once. Confine the initial development efforts to the two blocks as I’ve described and make this a success by working with private developers and the city in public-private partnerships.
Change Can Begin Today!
Here is one suggestion that could realistically be started almost immediately to bring more people downtown and help promote the future redevelopment efforts at the same time. Certain holidays can be celebrated on the mall and not just by simply putting up a few decorations. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland during the Christmas holidays, you’ve seen the transformation that occurs each year during that time. Every year, they add new
decorations or focus on a specific area of the park or as Walt Disney used to say, they “plus” the park from year to year. Each land within the park is designed with a certain theme and all of the holiday decorations incorporate design elements of that theme.
Without going into great detail, let’s just say it is an experience you must take in to really appreciate what I’m describing, but suffice it to say, the Fulton Mall; at least within this t
wo block area between Tulare and Inyo could attract thousands of people at nighttime (we’ll also refer to them as shoppers and diners). To help underwrite it, local companies could help sponsor the displays and a small donation could be taken in the same manner as Christmas Tree Lane does now. Now just imagine these same decorations in conjunction with an overhead video display or light show and how many people would go downtown to witness it.
Bringing people downtown during these special occasions also provides a unique opportunity to promote the redevelopment efforts by having an information area that shows proposed projects. An empty storefront on the south-end of the mall could be converted to showcase coming events and the redevelopment effort in a way to get people truly excited about downtown again. Using technology, they would be able to see a multimedia display of how downtown will look as redevelopment efforts progress.
Street Sculpture Program
Another idea for downtown is to take a cue from other cities and what they’ve done with the artist community. Cities like Orlando, Oklahoma City, Riverside and Toledo and even Bennington, VT to name a few have incorporated street sculpture to bring people downtown.
Orlando had swans made from fiberglass located in different parts of downt
own that were painted and decorated by local artists. Each swan was sponsored by a local corporation and some were located in front of their offices. Oklahoma City had dozens of bison spread around downtown and some are even “out to pasture” in a large grassy area by their new river walk—which just happens to be located where their Triple-A baseball stadium is located. Similar to Orlando, different local artists have done tremendous work in Oklahoma City making these bison a “must see” for locals and travelers. They have a walking tour map of each bison location and the story behind the overall project, each design the artist and corporate sponsor involved.
Why Not Fresno?
Fresno is known for raisins and agriculture, so why not play to our strengths? The dancing raisins were a national phenomenon a few years ago and they can be again with an art project that incorporates their likeness. The Raisin Bargaining Association would certainly be a willing participant since this could be used to help bring attention to their brand. This in and of itself will not bring repeat visits by locals, but it will bring them downtown at least once and will also be a draw for visitors. Consider it a good starting point that also can bring a lot of good press to the region.
Loyalty or Frequent
Shopper Cards
Numerous retailers, airlines and credit card companies promote loyalty-type cards to encourage repeat business. Cardholders earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of things such as travel, dining and merchandise.
The Downtown Association in conjunction with the City of Fresno could create a downtown loyalty program with participating merchants for any number of rewards including discounts or even free parking depending on the number of points they accrue. The primary goal would be to encourage repeat business, but first we have to create those shoppers by giving them a reason to shop and dine downtown.
What About Parking?
Everyone knows the parking situation needs to be addressed if we are going to bring downtown back and attract people for shopping and dining – especially if we want them to travel downtown rather than one of the many shopping venues throughout the city offering free parking. We all realize parking fees generate considerable revenue for the City, but at what cost to the vitality of downtown?
While parking is relaxed in the evening and on weekends – unless there is a special event taking place – on weekdays most of the people downtown only go there to conduct business, not to shop. Even if a great shopping and dining district such as what is being planned is successfully developed, most people will not frequent the area due to the cost of parking. At least not on a consistent basis, which is what it will take to attract and retain major downtown merchants.
So how do we manage this and still allow for parking fees as appropriate for people doing business downtown? One possibility is to simply increase the public awareness about the fact that merchants can validate the parking tickets for the underground parking garage at Tulare and Van Ness or the Spiral Garage at Van Ness and Inyo, both of which anchor each end of the two block area I’ve been referring to.
My guess is that most people are not aware of this and while doing so may have an impact on parking fees collected, the resulting revenues from businesses should more than offset any losses. I’m sure the city has already established that a certain dollar amount be spent with the merchants to qualify for the free parking validation.
Another option is to consider the loyalty-type program for frequent shoppers and diners whereby accrued points can be applied to discounts that offset what shoppers would spend on purchases, or toward free parking based on points.
I understand the need for parking revenues, but also feel the current parking program has only exacerbated the problem with bringing people downtown unless they absolutely have to for business. I hear it often and even have read over the years Letters to the Editor in The Fresno Bee where people have said they will not go downtown again unless absolutely necessary. We can change this. Again, the competition offers free parking all day long for shoppers and diners. The City of Fresno must consider this in any redevelopment plans to counter the negative aspect of paying for parking.
There is certainly much more than can and should be said about the subject of what is needed to bring diners, shoppers and even residents back to downtown, but I’m sure we will have ample opportunity to discuss this and other ideas in greater detail once the Downtown Revitalization Committee is formed and begins this important task. The underlying goal is to get the citizens of Fresno and the region in general to take part in these critical decisions. The greater Fresno area is going to continue to grow and we can either allow it to stay on its current path of urban sprawl, or find solutions to bringing some of that growth to our downtown and revitalize the urban core.
Article Written by Richard Deaver
