REPORT TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
February 23, 2026
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: ASHLEY ATKINSON, AICP, Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
Hearing to consider Development Permit Application P25-03963, which proposes interior and exterior renovations to the former Berkeley’s Department Store at 887 Fulton Street (Assessor Parcel Number: 468-282-21T).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends consideration of whether Development Permit Application P25-03963 meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City has received an application for renovation of the property located at 887 Fulton St., which was constructed in 1961 and operated until 1982 as Berkeley’s Department Store. It is not a designated Historic Resource nor located in a historic district, but it has been assessed and found eligible for listing on the Local Register of Historic Resources under Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) Sec. 12-1607. Development Permit P25-03963 proposes exterior renovations including new windows and architectural projections; a third-floor addition and rooftop dining deck; and interior renovations to include a food court and office space. The building is owned by the City of Fresno, which entered into a disposition and development agreement with the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation for the building’s sale and renovation in May 2024. In December 2025, the Historic Preservation Commission reviewed and commented on a Section 106 report for a separate but related scope of work for grant-funded abatement of hazardous substances on this site.
BACKGROUND
The structure at 887 Fulton was constructed in 1961, designed by Fresno architect Alastair Simpson and constructed at a cost of $1.2 million. It was not purpose-built for Berkeley’s Department Store, but store owner Gilbert C. Berkeley was the first person to lease the building. Berkeley’s, an upscale women’s clothing retailer, opened as Bruckner’s department store in 1919 and occupied four other locations prior to opening at 887 Fulton Street. Gilbert Berkeley was a proponent of the Downtown Fresno revitalization efforts and construction of Fulton Mall. The building was designed in the Mid-Century Modern style, the most common architectural style in the post-war era, and the style characteristic of Fulton Mall. Berkeley’s closed its Fulton Mall store in 1982 and relocated to Manchester Center. Since the store closed, the building has remained largely vacant and the interior has substantially deteriorated. The exterior of the building has remained unaltered except for the removal of “Berkeley’s” signs from the façades, and boarding of the windows (Exhibit C).
A California Department of Parks and Recreation 23 Series Form (DPR Form) was prepared in 2011 and updated in 2013 as part of the Fulton Corridor Historic Resources Survey, and 887 Fulton was recommended not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. However, based on community input, the assessment documented in the DPR Form found the structure individually eligible for Fresno’s Local Register of Historic Resources under Criteria a (1) (i) as a rare, intact example of a post-World War II department store associated with Mid-20th Century Commercial development in downtown Fresno, reflecting Fresno’s extensive revitalization efforts in the 1950s and 1960s (Exhibit B).
The DPR Form describes the building as rectangular in plan and capped with a flat roof with no eaves, noting its series of single-pane display windows and a recessed glass entry, sheltered beneath a canopy made of barrel vaults. The upper façade is characterized by faux stone- or concrete-clad siding, with no ornamental detailing. As of 2013, the property was described as in good condition, exhibiting a good degree of integrity; however, by 2025 the Section 106 Inventory conducted at that time describes it as in disrepair (Exhibit C).
The City of Fresno purchased the building in 2007 and sold it to the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation under a Disposition and Development Agreement (D&DA) approved by City Council in May 2024. The D&DA provides for redevelopment of the building into a food hub and office space, including a requirement to obtain necessary entitlements and permits from the Department of Planning & Development before the sale is finalized.
In December 2025, the Historic Preservation Commission reviewed and commented on a Section 106 report for a separate but related scope of work for abatement of hazardous substances on this site, funded by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The scope of that review was limited to interior abatement and roof repair work to preserve the structure, which did not impact the historic integrity of the exterior.
ANALYSIS
Development Permit Application P25-03963 proposes a number changes to the exterior of the building. These include (Exhibit D):
• Removal of the barrel-vaulted canopies (structural supports to remain)
• New architectural projections on the Fulton and Kern street façades reading “887”
• New second-story window openings on the Fulton, Kern, and Homerun Alley façades
• New doors and storefront window systems in existing window and door openings on the Fulton and Kern street façades
• Relocation of the entrance on the Kern street façade
• New third floor addition at the rear of the property and rooftop dining deck
The proposed renovations will allow for the revitalization of a building that has been largely vacant for more than 40 years, with changes that will allow for modernization of its use and contribute to a more active relationship with Fulton Street and the plaza at the termination of Kern Street. Some of the proposed changes, such as the removal of the barrel canopies and addition of the architectural projections, may be reversible in the future without impairing the historic integrity of the property per the Secretary of the Interior’s Standard #10 (Exhibit E). However, the addition of a number of new second-story window openings may represent an irreversible change to a defining characteristic of the building, its unornamented second-story facades. Per the Secretary of the Interior’s Standard #1, “The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided;” and per Standard #9, “New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property.”
PUBLIC NOTICE
In accordance with Section 12-1617 of the FMC, the Planning and Development Department mailed
notices of this hearing to surrounding property owners within 2,000 feet.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
If the Commission finds that the proposed plans are consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, then the project can use a Categorical Exemption Class 31 which consists of projects limited to maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, conservation, or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
CONCLUSION
887 Fulton St has been found eligible for listing on the Local Register of Historic Resources. Staff recommend that the Commission hold the hearing and determine whether the proposed plans can be found consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A - Notice of Public Hearing
Exhibit B - DPR Inventory Form (2011/2013)
Exhibit C - Section 106 Inventory and Evaluation Report
Exhibit D - P25-03963 Elevations
Exhibit E - Secretary of the Interior’s Standards