Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearingen announced on Monday, “Today I'm so pleased to be standing here in front of Fresno's first sky scraper and I'm so pleased to announce that it has a new owner.”
Sevak Kachadurian and his brother are the Helm Building’s new owners. They own a development company in Southern California. You might remember, Kachadurian also bought the Pacific Southwest Building, back in September. He and Mayor Ashley Swearingen made the big announcement. Swearengin said, “This is what revitalization looks like, one building at a time. Turning over, landing in the right hands, all the while, the city working to implement its plans for the public infrastructure in the area.”
Kachadurian said he decided to purchase another building because he's in full support of the city's Fulton Mall revitalization plan.
“You have to do things before it's too late. A lot of times developers foresee things. I have sat down with the mayor, with the city, I know what their plan is and it makes complete sense,” said Kachadurian.
He says his main goal is to bring the Helm Building back to life, “We’re going to concentrate on the commercial aspect of it and leave the upstairs for the future, to see exactly what the demand will be in our pacific southwest building. If there is more demand for offices then we'll do offices. If there is more demand for residential, then we can do residential, so right now, it's wait and see. But wouldn't a beautiful café look nice here?”
Kachadurian wouldn't say how much he bought the Helm Building for. He's hopeful the city will pull through with it's plan to open up the Fulton Mall to car traffic. The city is currently reviewing several options to do just that. The council plans to vote on it early next year.
TXT 24
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