Downtown Urban Living in Central California

Loft Living and Fresno Urban

My name is Dan, I live with my partner Mike in Downtown Fresno. We have a loft that we enjoy living in. We also enjoy the fact that we live less than a mile from work. Obviously, we didn't always live downtown. We lived out in the suburbs where we own a house that is rented out. In January of 2011, we decided that we wanted to be closer to work and we didn't need a five bedroom house, so we moved to Vagabond Lofts.

Shortly after moving downtown, we were impressed with how much we enjoyed living there. We walked to the store or the Iron Bird Cafe, a great cafe that is located a block away. On the weekends we can walk a block in one direction to see live bands at Fulton 55. Or, we can walk across the street to the Rainbow Ballroom when they have live music and catch a show there. With all that convenience and good neighbors, we wanted to tell other people about Downtown Fresno and that is why we created a site called Fresno Urban.

Now it has been about three months and we get thousands of page views a day on the web site. Recently, our local paper Fresno Bee highlighted our coverage of a local event that happened in Downtown Fresno over the weekend. Mike and I attended the event, took some pictures and some video of Flamenco dancers and posted it on Fresno Urban.

Living Downtown

Living in Downtown Fresno is consistent with our values. We support revitalization, sustainable development, urban renewal. A major reason for our relocation to downtown is because we wanted to 'walk the walk,' and not just talk the talk. It was somewhat hypocritical to criticize urban sprawl from our five bedroom home on the outskirts of town.

I am passionate about revitalization and I strongly oppose urban sprawl, I frequently write about those issue at Fresno Urban. It was a post about revitalization that really sparked interest in Fresno Urban. A month after we created the site, the Director of Revitalization for the City of Fresno, found our site and shared it with others. The result was a huge jump in traffic and a meeting with Craig Scharton, the Director of Revitalization at the time.

Craig told me about what the City had done to help the downtown area come back to life. Eight years ago, there were no lofts or apartments that most people would live in, in Downtown Fresno. The city has been working hard to get businesses and people to locate in Downtown Fresno. Their efforts have paid off. Vagabond Lofts was developed in downtown Fresno as a result of the city's efforts at revitalization. Vagabond Lofts has the kind of amenities that professionals expect, marble counter-tops, hardwood floors and high ceilings.

Iron Bird Lofts was developed after Vagabond Lofts. Iron Bird Lofts is about a block away from Vagabond Lofts, however the cool urban designed complex is visible from Vagabond Lofts. Iron Bird Lofts brought many more young professionals to the neighborhood, a nightclub called Fulton 55, and a new name. Now called The Mural District, there is a lot going on around here. Resteraunts have opened in the neighborhood, more loft complexes, and other types of businesses have opened. In fact, there is an organic food store and restaurant at Vagabond Lofts, called Revive Cafe.

Urban Living

Our community followed the site as we shared our experience grocery shopping without a car, we used the bus to find out how it felt to go without a vehicle. (We have multiple vehicles, but we wanted the complete urban living experience.) We have shared events that we attended in Downtown Fresno, a tattoo convention the Fresno Chile Festival and Cinco de Mayo celebration as well as others.

We get feedback from the community and we share our experience. I have to say that living downtown is nice, however writing about our life and the community makes all of it even more enjoyable.

You can check out our site

Part of living the urban life, is convenient entertainment options. Within a block of our house there are two nightclubs that frequently have life music. About three quarters of a mile from our house is Selland Arena, one of the two major concert venues in Fresno. Top performers such as Garth Brooks have played at the Selland Arena. The venue is also host to the occasional circus, monster truck show and Disney on Ice show.

We also live near Saroyan Theatre, last night we went to a comedy show where Kathy Griffin performed. We met with her and chatted for a while with Kathy, we would not be able to do that if we did not live Downtown. Next week, Cheryl Crow will be performing at the Saroyan Theatre and in August, Daniel Tosh will be performing there.

In addition to the Saroyan Theatre and the Selland Arena, there is two more large exhibit halls and a conference center on the same block. The collection of these venues form the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center.

Closer to our place, about half a mile from our loft actually, is Chukchansi Park. Chukchansi Park is home to Major League Baseball's Grizzlies baseball team. The stadium seats 12,500 people. When Chukchansi Park is not being used by the Grizzlies, it hosts concerts, trade shows, and city wide special events.

Recently we attended a forum about the murals that are in Downtown Fresno. The forum was well attended with more than thirty people in attendance. The forum featured many of the artists that are responsible for the excellent murals in Downtown Fresno.

Fresno's Mural District

The artists reported that their murals serve as a forum for them to share their dreams and visions as well as a catalyst for discussion and dialog between residents and community leaders. It was obvious from the forum that these artists would create art even if nobody was around to view the art. These artists are compelled to create art and welcome the opportunity to share this art with the community. The amazing part is the art they create is beautiful. You can see examples of the artwork by following the link below.