New hotel building owner dives into third downtown Fresno renovation project

A group of investors led by the owner of two prominent buildings on downtown Fresno’s Fulton Street is taking over a nearby troubled hotel building.

The former Radisson Hotel on Van Ness Avenue at the Mariposa Mall between Tulare and Fresno streets was closed by the city of Fresno in late December because of uninhabitable conditions and failure to meet fire code regulations. It’s now owned by a partnership led by Los Angeles businessman Sevak Khatchadourian.

Khatchadourian is the owner of the Pacific Southwest Building and the nearby Helm Building, both on Fulton Street a stone’s throw from the Radisson.

The 197-room, nine-story hotel opened as a Hilton Hotel in 1972. It closed because of financial problems in 2003, but was purchased in 2006 and reopened as a Holiday Inn. It became a Radisson Hotel in 2014.

Khatchadourian and his brother, Serko, bought the Pacific Southwest Building – formerly known as the Security Bank building – in 2011 from a bank that had foreclosed on the previous owners. The brothers bought the nearby Helm Building in 2012. It is undergoing renovations.

The troubled Radisson building last changed hands in 2010, when it was sold to Dallas-based HI Fresno Hotel Holdings LLC for an estimated $9.4 million, according to an online public records database. The assessed value of the property last year was estimated at more than $8.9 million.

Khatchadourian said he and his partnership group, 1055 Van Ness LLC, have yet to decide what the ultimate use of the building will be, whether it’s a hotel, offices, or some other function. The initial focus will be on resolving the deficiencies that closed the hotel in the first place.

“We have a list from the (city’s) building department and we have a list of things to do from the fire department,” Khatchadourian said. “We are in the construction business and we can do that. We can take care of those.”

“The first thing we’re going to do is deal with the safety issues right away. We have some roof leak problems and we’re going to resolve those,” he added. Only then will the partnership figure out what to do with the property. “As of right now we’re studying all the possibilities.”

“It is truly a great building and a great location, and offers numerous possibilities,” he said.

Councilmember discouraged homeless shelter plan

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, whose southeast Fresno district includes downtown and the Radisson site, said he’s looking forward to what the new owners will do with the building.

“In the last few months I discouraged other buyers as they sought to convert the hotel into a homeless shelter for county residents,” Arias told The Fresno Bee on Wednesday. “I am extremely supportive of the new owner given their track record in revitalizing other downtown buildings.”

Khatchadourian said a confidentiality agreement prevents him from disclosing what his partnership team paid for the 103,000-square-foot building.

Documents from the California Secretary of State indicates that the ownership group, 1055 Van Ness LLC, has its principal address in Encino and a mailing address in Dana Point. “It’s a group of good guys,” Khatchadourian said, sidestepping a question on who the other partners are. “They’re decision makers, too. Together we’ll be deciding the right product.”

Lee Ann Eager, president and CEO of the Fresno County Economic Development Corp., said she is excited to see new owners ready to take on the task of renovating the once-thriving building.

“One of the things we really need is to make sure that our downtown is as beautiful and as updated as it possibly can be,” she said. “Sevak and his partners have gone into downtown and said, ‘We care about this community. We want to make sure that we’re building up from the inside out, and that’s right downtown here.’”

Eager’s agency leases office space in Khatchadourian’s Pacific Southwest Building across an alley from the Radisson. “I saw what Sevak and his team can do with a building,” she said of the renovation of the former bank building that opened in 1925.

Eager added that as her organization works to attract companies and businesses to the Fresno area, “these are the kinds of buildings we need to have renovated. These are the kinds of things that Sevak and his team have come in and said, ‘We get it. We need to put our best foot forward.’”

“From an economic development standpoint, this is vital,” she said.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said he has worked with Khatchadourian during the purchase “to ensure he was aware of all of the building safety concerns.”

“I am very pleased to see that a proven developer with local ties has acquired the property,” Dyer added. “My administration will continue to work closely with Sevak and his team has he transforms this building into a first-class mixed-use development.”