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Affluent northeast Fresno neighborhood gets its first affordable housing project, after decades of segregation

Dec. 11, 2024

The grand opening of Avalon Commons marks a step forward in Fresno’s efforts to expand access to affordable housing in the city’s more affluent neighborhoods.

What’s at stake? Avalon Commons, an affordable housing development, held its grand opening on Tuesday, becoming the first affordable housing development in northeast Fresno. For several decades, the city has sited most of its affordable housing in lower-income neighborhoods with poorer quality schools and amenities. The project adds 60 new affordable homes to the city’s stock. But a looming gap still remains, as new data shows that over 35,000 low-income households in Fresno County still lack access to affordable housing.

A month and a half ago, Iva Tanner had a stroke, something she attributed to having taken care of her mother for five years after she developed dementia.

“I knew I was at the end, five years is a long time to labor without assistance,” Tanner said.

A minister for more than 30 years, she left her home in Sacramento and came to Fresno after her father developed and eventually passed away from Alzheimer’s. Tanner promised her father that she would keep her mother at home.

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