Council approves Garage 9 renovation to create office space for housing and homeless services

The Fresno City Council approved a contract on Jan. 9 to renovate the interior of the structure known as Garage 9 and convert sections of the building into office space for the Housing and Homeless Division. The approved project is largely interior work — mechanical upgrades, asbestos remediation, new offices, conference rooms and ADA path-of-travel improvements — rather than a broad structural rehabilitation of parking areas.

Planning staff and capital-projects managers described the work as a conversion of existing city-owned space to allow the city to stop leasing off-site office space and to provide a permanent in‑house location for homelessness services and associated administrative staff. Assistant planning director Phil Skye and the parking division confirmed the parking structure itself has no immediate structural concerns and that separate scheduled studies and automation work address garage infrastructure needs.

Council questioned whether the ‘‘garage’’ label obscured the scope; staff explained the name came from asset lists and historic documentation. Council approved the appropriation for the interior renovation after confirming that most of the funds would be used for office fit‑out and that only minor exterior/parking adjustments were required to comply with ADA access rules tied to the change of use.

What’s next: Capital projects will proceed with interior renovations, asbestos remediation and systems upgrades; staff said a separate automation and structural program addresses broader parking-structure work on a capital-project schedule.

Sources: Phil Skye, assistant director of planning and development; parking division comments; council proceedings (Jan. 9, 2025).