By Bill McEwen / The Fresno Bee
05/27/07 06:04:24

It's time to confront reality.

Downtown Fresno is dead, it's never coming back and our leaders should stop pouring taxpayer money into a sinkhole.

The overwhelming majority of Fresnans don't care about downtown. It's too brown, too black, too yellow or too icky for suburban psyches.

Parking is expensive and a hassle. If you're lucky enough to find a parking spot, you end up with a ticket -- or getting hit for change by panhandlers.

People go downtown because they have to, not because they want to.

And now even the have-to's -- like the folks at Fresno County public works -- are rebelling. They want an easy, uncomplicated employment experience on the eastern fringe.

Some of our politicians continue to insist that downtown has a future.

One is Mayor Alan Autry, whose State of the City speech last week was sponsored in part by Forest City Enterprises, a developer that has proposed bringing homes and businesses to an area south of the baseball stadium.

That project won't happen, and neither will the mayor's riverwalk. Fresnans have been voting with their feet for decades. Downtown isn't important to them.

Autry said in the speech that downtown has improved on his watch. Don't believe him. Downtown has no soul, no vibe and no momentum.

The Old Fresno Hofbrau sits empty. Kern Street Coffee cut back its hours. Chinatown reminds me of "Eleanor Rigby" with its rows of lonely parking meters waiting for cars that never come. Fagan's is a memory -- as are dozens of reports, recommendations and so-called visions for rebuilding downtown.

The mayor actually provides the best evidence of downtown's demise. Even though City Hall is downtown, he spends little time there and often does media interviews and consults with experts at north-end coffee shops.

Downtown also is hindered by upside-down economics. Costs and risks are high downtown, compared to developing elsewhere. The result: Empty old buildings are left to decay, and the blight discourages investment in adjoining properties.

Moreover, Autry's administration rarely has had the courage to go after speculators who allow their properties to deteriorate.

A classic example is the dilapidated building -- or, should I say pigeon roost? -- at 802 Van Ness that, according to city documents, is owned by bigwig Fresno developer Cliff Tutelian.

I feel sorry for the operators of Joe's Steakhouse and Grill across the street. Their customers shouldn't have to endure a view of Fresno's biggest eyesore with their meals.

It's unfair to pin downtown's death entirely on Autry's big-talk-little-action tenure. Jim Patterson and city officials of his era set the stage in 1997 when they gave Calcot Ltd. $7.5 million in infrastructure subsidies to develop Palm Bluffs, one of the San Joaquin Valley's prime properties.

That decision pretty much said it all about downtown's future. Instead of revitalizing downtown -- which is supposed to be a metropolitan city's calling card -- Patterson chose to direct taxpayer money to 235 northwest acres that any kindergartner with an allowance could turn into a huge success.

Finally, the downtown of any city reflects the attitude of its movers and shakers. There are Fresnans who have made their fortunes here and want a vital downtown. But they are a precious few.

The remainder of Fresno's elite is content to count their blessings and look north. A healthy downtown, while it might be nice, isn't a priority for them.

Fresno's future is as a series of retail hubs. Soon to come: Campus Pointe and Fancher Creek, both of which will suck more life out of downtown.

It has been a good fight, but now is the time to move on. No more hot air, please, about downtown getting better, the need for patience and drawings from the latest master developer landing at the airport.

The new $206 million county library that's supposed to go downtown?

Pull the plug and put it at Harlan Ranch, where someone will actually use it.
The columnist can be reached at bmcewen@ fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6632.