FRESNO BEE December 15, 2005 Mendota embraces builder's $70m plan A $70 million development project — the scope of which is unique to the Valley — could provide nearly 500 homes for farmworkers, along with retail and other services. Mendota officials hope the project also will give the city's impoverished economy a much-needed boost. "I'm hoping that it will contribute to our tax base, which to say the least, is very, very dismal," Mendota Mayor Joseph Riofrio said. The City Council has approved the proposal, which would occupy 68 acres on the town's east side. The project, which would be built in phases over 10 years, includes 480 multiple-family units for farmworker housing, 73 single-family homes, a commercial center, a child care center, a service station, professional offices and a farm-labor transportation center. "We know there is a tremendous need for something like this in rural communities where developers won't go," said Alex Valdez, executive director of the I-5 Social Services Corp., which has been primarily involved in child-care facilities. "We're trying to fill a void." The project is similar to models used by the National Farm Workers Service Center Inc., said Manuel Bernal, vice president of housing for the Los Angeles-based organization. Bernal said that since the 1980s, the organization has constructed or rehabilitated more than 4,000 affordable apartments in heavily Hispanic and underserved communities often ignored by other builders. The organization has built housing projects in Parlier, Porterville, Fresno, Delano and Bakersfield. The housing communities include services that encourage family self-sufficiency, financial literacy and improving health and nutrition. They also provide recreational opportunities and youth development, mentoring and homework-assistance programs, English classes and healthy-aging initiatives for seniors. The National Farm Workers Service Center owns a shopping center in Parlier and has developed housing behind it, Bernal said. He said a mixed-use development is being planned in Bakersfield. However, the scope of the Mendota project far exceeds those done by Bernal's organization. "It's a large project, but without a doubt, the housing is needed," Bernal said. "It's going to require lots of money." Riofrio said the project will be a lift to the city in a "very neglected, very populated part of town. "It will provide shopping for the community, but housing is the biggest plus for the community." Riofrio said the town gets overrun during the summer farming season. For years, code-enforcement personnel have tried to rid the city of people living in garages and in unsanitary conditions, he said. "People are leaving town because they don't want to be next door to that," Riofrio said. Mendota, with a population of about 8,600, 94.7% of which is Hispanic, generally has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. In October, the rate was 24.4%. The 2000 U.S. census put the west Fresno County city second in the state with 41.88% of the population living below the poverty level. It also has the second-lowest income in the state at $6,967 per family, according to the census.
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