[FresnoFacts]

Donald Trump has signed a letter of intent to purchase 420 acres in Fresno consisting of the under construction Running Horse Golf Course and adjacent residential development for $40 million. Attorneys are meeting this week to hammer out the details. A final agreement is expected next week.

The original out of town developer ran into financial problems and the Jack Nicklaus-designed course is unfinished and now in bankruptcy. So any deal would need approval from the bankruptcy court.

The golf course would be renamed Trump National Golf Club-Fresno.
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/71674.html

The location of the course is 1 mile west of Highway 99, or about 1.5 miles west of downtown Fresno. There is a map at the bottom of the linked article or you can map the intersection of Marks and Whites Bridge in Fresno.

The area has not seen much development over the years as Fresno grew north from downtown. It has been expected that the course would spur other development in and near the downtown core due to its proximity.

Trump has also spoken with city and county leaders indicating that he wants them to work on redeveloping the surrounding 9 sq miles (over 5,000 acres). It is unclear what Trump's investment or role would be in that redevelopment.

The golf course was supposed to host a PGA tournament in October of this year but due to the financial problems the event was moved to Florida. The PGA indicates they would still be interested at some time in the future.

[tuy]

This is good news for Fresno. I am looking at the map, and this development is just West of downtown, and also the downtown airport. This of course should not be confused with the Fresno-Yosemite airport that is further North and East of downtown.

Hopefully Trump will include some residential towers in his development plans for the surrounding area. Maybe Fresno will get something taller than the current 225 foot Federal Courthouse.

It is also nice to see Trump looking at California. Hopefully he will also look at other places in the Central Valley.

[FresnoFacts]

The population of the Fresno MSA is now what Sacramento MSA was in the late 1970's.

Back then the construction of the Capitol Plaza Holiday Inn (1979) in Sacramento was a tall building. I believe Fresno will soon start moving through a cycle like Sacramento did in the 1980s/1990s.

[WonderlandPark]

If any city in America deserves to finally get some big time development in there, it is Fresno. The metro just passed a million, the city is easily bigger than Miami or Minneapolis, it is time, Fresno. Hope Trump can help.

[FresnoFacts]

While north Fresno has boomed with shopping centers in that area seeing the addition of chain stores ranging from REI to Anthropologie, the downtown area has lagged for decades. Its seeing starts and failures recently but things are happening. There is a mix of local and out of town developers investing in the downtown area.

Besides Trump, there are several other changes on the horizon.

A New York developer purchased the former Hilton Hotel (built in 1972) in downtown Fresno, which has been vacant for 4 years. He is currently renovating the building and will reopen it as a Holiday Inn later this year. The work includes reopening the Sky Room bar on the 9th floor.

Another developer is currently converting floors 11 to 16 of the Pacific Southwest Building (built in 1923) aka the Security Bank building into loft apartments priced starting at about $400,000. The overall project is called Fresno Pacific Towers. The lofts are "Lofts at 1060 Fulton".
http://www.fresnopt.com/
http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=6623

The son of a local developer is constructing artist's lofts in several buildings near the Fresno Met Museum. The first project sold out quickly and he has moved on to another building with others planned.
http://www.urbanfresno.com/

Speaking of the Fresno Met, it is currently renovating its home in the former Fresno Bee building (1922). When complete early next year the museum will reopen and start using floors 4 and 5 which have been vacant since 1978.
http://www.fresnomet.org/renovation_station

A Pasadena developer, Romi Baghgegian, is currently renovating the old Hotel Virginia (1922) near the Convention Center, which also has been vacant for years. It will reopen with offices and shops.

Baghegian has also opened escrow on the 6 story Hotel Fresno (1912), which has been vacant since 1983.

Finally the city council should receive a report next month on plans by Forest City Development for the rebuilding of 80 acres south of the new downtown baseball stadium. The plan is expected to be a mix of housing and retail.

[Phillip]

A New York developer purchased the former Hilton Hotel (built in 1972) in downtown Fresno, which has been vacant for 4 years. He is currently renovating the building and will reopen it as a Holiday Inn later this year. The work includes reopening the Sky Room bar on the 9th floor.

Holiday Inn will be a good addition to Downtown Fresno. The former Hilton was a Howard Johnson's when I lived in Fresno 6-7 years ago. Talk about repositioning!

[FresnoFacts]

Donald Trump agreed to pay $30 million for the Running Horse development this week. He has paid a $1 million deposit and is now conducting due diligence. Assuming he remains satisfied after due diligence, the deal still needs the approval of the bankruptcy court.

If the deal is approved, construction will start quickly to finish what will be renamed Trump National Golf Club-Fresno. They want an opening by Summer 2008.

Besides the golf course Trump is now talking about expanded investment and development in both that area and in Downtown Fresno.

Trump representatives have met with Fresno area home builders and indicated they are looking to include more housing and larger homes than originally planned for the golf course. They are now looking to build 1,000 homes in the 4,000 to 10,000 sq ft range that would sell for $1 million or more.

The City of Fresno now confirms that they are speaking with Trump reps about Trump building a new downtown hotel, adjacent to the Fresno Convention Center's new hall. The site is the corner of Inyo and M Streets.

The city attempted to build a 400 room, 10 story hotel there 2 or 3 years ago but it did not get off the ground. The City of Fresno says it is too early to say what Trump might build but I would guess it would be at least that size.

[BrianSac]

Trump's Fresno golf course deal falls through
07/28/07 20:16:36
Related Content
http://www.fresnobee.com






Donald Trump has withdrawn his $30 million offer for the bankrupt Running Horse golf and residential development here.

Trump representatives said they were frustrated by failed attempts to buy several privately owned parcels in the middle of the project at an acceptable price. The billionaire developer also was surprised to learn the area in southwest Fresno had too much open land and too few blighted buildings to qualify as a redevelopment area, which carries tax benefits.

But Trump's daughter said at a downtown Fresno news conference Friday that her father is not giving up on Running Horse.

"I'm here to say we will continue to pursue this project," said Ivanka Trump, a top executive in her father's organization.

Mayor Alan Autry said he will ask state lawmakers for special legislation that would enable the area to get the redevelopment area status.

"I spoke to Donald Trump (Thursday)," Autry said. "I'm pleased to tell the people of Fresno that he is still 100 percent committed to this project. It will just take a different form (for) the grand vision he has for Fresno."

Trump signed the deal to buy the bankrupt golf course earlier this month following months of public negotiations.

[FresnoFacts]

There is a new bidder today for Running Horse Golf Course. No word yet if Trump will now decide to try for the course again with a counter offer. Trump's lawyer was in the Bankrutcy Court this morning taking notes.

The Running Horse project's bankruptcy lawyer identified Southern California developer Trimark Pacific Homes LP as the bidder with a $30 million offer to buy the financially troubled golf and residential development in southwest Fresno.

Lawyer Riley Walter, talking this morning outside the federal courthouse in downtown Fresno where a bankruptcy hearing is taking place, said Trimark has signed the letter of intent but Running Horse owner Mick Evans hasn't. Evans bought the project in March and filed for bankruptcy protection in April. His Manteca-based golf course construction company is among the project's approximately 300 creditors.

Trimark has projects stretching from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.
http://www.fresnobee.com/updates/photo/story/107024.html

[FresnoFacts]

A purchase agreement with Trimark Pacific is expected to be signed this week.

Donald Trump's attorney says their company still expects to bid on the property in a bankruptcy auction.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=5571232