Old Armenian Town homes close to housing residents again

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The decorativeness enactment is adjacent successful the decades-long effort to support and reconstruct historical homes successful Armenian Town successful Downtown Fresno.

Woodframe windows spell into spot astatine 3 homes successful Old Armenian Town. One of the past steps successful a agelong process to get the buildings occupied erstwhile again.

The windows successful each of the homes are each custom-made to acceptable humanities specifications.

"We came to find retired that truly the afloat wood windows that you woud've seen backmost successful circa aboriginal 1900s were truly important to the wide aesthetic of the gathering truthful we took retired the windows and replaced them with marque caller afloat wood windows," said Scott Anderson, Penstar Group.

The homes didn't ever beryllium astatine their existent location, they were built a artifact distant connected Santa Clara and N Streets successful the aboriginal 1900s.

Around 2000, they were acceptable to beryllium torn down to marque mode for the Court of Appeals Building and projected commercialized development, but historical groups fought to prevention them.

Five homes were moved to Santa Clara and M Street successful 2014, but continued to beryllium empty. Two of them burned down successful 2020.

Over the years, determination were hopes the homes could beryllium utilized arsenic offices, oregon shops, and service arsenic historical exhibits of Fresno's Armenian community's past.

The roadworthy to rehabilitation has been long. Maintaining the exterior to lucifer humanities requirements and conscionable modern standards proved to beryllium hard and costly.

"The archetypal relocation was astir fractional a cardinal dollars, the subsquent occurrence that occured present was different fractional cardinal dollars, since past we've invested $1.3 cardinal successful the reconstruction and the latest measure was $140 1000 that came from my bureau to bring backmost the archetypal wood windows that are customized built," said Miguel Arias, Fresno City Council.

The task was funded by the city.

Developers took painstaking details to marque definite the restorations were accurate.

"If you look astatine immoderate of what we telephone the fishscales connected the broadside of the gathering you'll spot numbers connected them that's our craftsmen and our contractor taking painstaking accomplishment successful numbering each 1 of them truthful we knew precisely wherever each 1 of them would spell erstwhile we replaced them," said Anderson.

While the extracurricular of the homes person to conscionable humanities standards, the interior has modern plan and amenities.

Outside of the homes themselves, the archetypal thoroughfare lights person been restored, and a parkland country was placed wherever the 2 homes burned down.

There a plaque volition beryllium installed to commemorate the history.

Once enactment is completed, the homes volition beryllium rented retired arsenic affordable lodging with April 15th arsenic the day planned for residents to determination in.

Applications are being worked done close now.