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NESTLED IN THE HEART OF THE FERTILE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL center of California, the Fresno-Visalia market, once shunned by residents of the coast, increasingly has become a destination for residents of the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. Many Angelinos and Bay Area dwellers are relocating to the area in search of a more reasonably priced standard of living. The availability of more-affordable housing is largely responsible for the expanding intrastate migration of fellow Golden Staters to the Fresno area.
Fresno "was like the ugly stepchild of California that nobody wanted," says Charles Williams, general manager of UPN affiliate KAIL-TV But widi housing prices becoming exorbitant in many California markets, Fresno-where the average price of a home is around $150,000, and land remains plentiful-is looking more and more attractive.
As a result, the real estate market in the Fresno area is on fire. A group of local developers have proposed a new 2,837-home development called Copper River Ranch that could get under way by next spring if it receives all the necessary approvals. The development would sit on a 710-acre site that would include a mix of residential and commercial uses. The extensive housing project could accommodate as many as 8,000 residents, along with 250,000 square feet of commercial and office space by the time it is fully completed in another decade or so. In non-housing development, a new 12,500-seat stadium for the Fresno Grizzlies, the farm team for Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, opened last spring to considerable praise for its design and for its role as a major cornerstone in the rejuvenation of downtown Fresno. The stadium, which cost $46 million to build, features 30 private suites, extra-wide concourses, numerous concession stands and a stadium club restaurant, among other amenities.
The market continues to have a strong agricultural base, and it proudly calls itself the "Raisin Capital of the World." Fresno has lagged many other cities in terms of urban renewal efforts because of the region's significant reliance on farming. About 7,500 commercial farmers earn their living in Fresno County alone, growing crops including grapes, citrus, tomatoes, lettuce and cotton. The heavy dependence on agriculture, with a large number of migrant workers and service workers in the area, means...