Almonds growing on old Running Horse site

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The site of a failed luxury home project complete with a PGA golf course has been returned to its agricultural past.

The Running Horse project in Southwest Fresno was eventually reduced to a running joke.

A local developer still believes housing will be built on the site - when the market is right.

The rolling hills remain where rolling fairways were supposed to go but they're all covered with almond trees now.

The almonds grow on a large plot of land where big dreams died seven years ago.

Granville Homes president Darius Assemi is a partner in the group which bought the land. In January they planted over 300 acres of almonds - a valuable cash crop.

Assemi said, "The value is obviously substantially higher than just bare ground. This was a dumping ground unfortunately for trash and tires and trees and excess landscaping."

On May 25, 2007 billionaire Donald Trump came out to give this then bankrupt property a look. He eventually took his offer off the table.

Those who moved into this neighborhood across the street bought into the Running Horse dream. They feel the almond orchard is better than the blighted area which remained when the project went under.

Matt Estes said, "It's better than the junk pile that was there before and homeless encampment, stolen cars found out there and everything else. It's better than that by a long shot but it doesn't help our values though."

Assemi expected to harvest his first almond crop here in three years but added someday this orchard will make way for homes. "It is a piece of property that hopefully eventually will get developed but we want to make sure it is planned carefully, master planned attractively and ready when the market is there."

Assemi hoped to work with the city of Fresno on a master plan but Estes wasn't sure if he'll still be in the neighborhood by then.

Estes said, "That could be ten years down the road. That's hard to say. Who knows what's going to happen in ten years?"

Estes said about a dozen families of the 58 who originally bought homes in the neighborhood remain. Some home building activity has resumed in the area.