New investment group hoping to revitalize downtown Fresno one building at a time

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A new fundraising push is underway to keep the momentum going. It has been six months since construction crews started chipping away at the Fulton Mall to make room for a two-way street.

Though some can not wait to see the final product the wait will be another six months, but Craig Scharton can already see the potential.

"A nice restaurant or a shop, people living upstairs or maybe some creative office space upstairs."

He is investing in Downtown Fresno to bring it back to life and he is hoping other people will too through a newly formed LLC-- Fulton Street Investors.

"It's a really great way to raise capital from your own community."

Scharton's goal is to raise up to $4.5 million to buy, renovate, and lease one to three story buildings.

"Establishing that ground floor retail, that's really gonna add foot traffic to our Downtown."

To get started, he needs the first million and investors-- not just the rich. Scharton said also middle-class workers with a net-worth of at least $30,000 and an annual income, equal to that.

"As soon as we raise one million, we'll be able to buy our first building."

Mayor Ashley Swearengin said the investment would build on top of what was already a good idea-- reconnecting Fulton Street.

"We knew this all along, that a small investment in public infrastructure would trigger private investment that doubles, triples, quadruples the amount of money we're putting into that infrastructure project."

Swearengin said construction is on schedule and under budget and the street should be open by March of next year.