www.thebusinessjournal.com UPDATED DAILY DECEMBER 28, 2018 thebusinessjournal.com the FOCUS | 8 Resort-style living in the heart of the Valley 2018 YEAR IN REVIEW Year’s most expensive home a taste of Mediterranean luxury Year in Review David Castellon - STAFF WRITER the EXECUTIVE After building their dream PROFILE | 9 home and raising their two children, the owners of a more than 7,200-square-foot house in Clovis decided it was time to downsize earlier this year. That’s not a particularly unique situation, except the house — which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis court and a pool house big enough for guests — was purchased for $2.35 million, A look back at 2018 making it the most expensive home sold this year in Fresno, the LIST | 10 Tulare, Madera or Kings coun- ties, according to the Multiple PHOTOS VIA MLS | The year’s most expensive home, a 7,200-square-foot Guarantee Real Estate tops the Listing Service used by bro- Mediterranean-style home near Armstrong and Shepherd avenues in Most Expensive Home Sales list kers. Clovis, sits on 3.6 acres. Its interior features high-end granite surfaces in a massive indoor kitchen, as well as an outdoor kitchen with a grill Rama Ambati, a broker and and refrigerator. This Week Online 6 senior sales associate for Guar- The Leads 14-15 antee Real Estate in Fresno, Public Notices 16-21 who represented the owners of Please see the Most Expensive Home Sales list on page 10 Opinion 22 Homes | 3 2018 YEAR IN REVIEW 2018 YEAR IN REVIEW DINING RETAIL So, you want Stores, to open a they are a restaurant? changin’ Edward Smith – STAFF WRITER Gabriel Dillard – MANAGING EDITOR Following a number of years of shrinking restaurant space, 2018 The past 365 days proved to be seemed to be the year of their re- PHOTO BY DAVID CASTELLON | Four-legged friendy Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar opened in October, a continuance of a sweeping tran- causing a stir in the local dining scene and giving customers a chance to eat with their pets on the sition in the retail sector. While turn. Throughout the Central Val- patio. ley, once shuttered locations came the narrative for the last few years and bar in late 2016. Audie’s Olym- has been the imminent death of back to life with newer and more Just across the way in River Park, pic, less than a mile away from Liv- diverse eateries filling those va- Brazilian steakhouse Texas de Bra- brick-and-mortar stores in favor ingstone’s, is also being brought of e-commerce, a more nuanced cated spaces. Though, in the more zil filled the space occupied by back as Full Circle Olympic by in- competitive restaurant scene, Chevy’s Fresh Mex before its 2016 picture of consumer retail spend- vestors of the Chinatown-based ing and habits has emerged that business owners are increasingly closure. Additionally, announce- brewery. forced to carve out for themselves ments have been made for long- breathes some hope into four walls In Madera, it did not take long and ceiling. an identity with which to draw awaited tenants at the World Sports for a lease to be signed for the Cool hungry crowds. Cafe, which closed in 2014. Retailers nationwide are just now Hand Luke’s space near the fair- taking stock of the holiday spend- While many commercial real es- Though hungry shoppers will grounds, though it did take some tate brokers may be finding it dif- have to wait until next year for the ing season, but early projections negotiating with developer New- indicate a strong performance, de- ficult to fill big gaps left by major Taiwanese eatery JPot to open, gen- man Development Group, as busi- retailers including Kmart or OSH, eral manager Jason Lin confirms spite a wavering stock market. Sales ness owner Dustin Franklin was from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve they may be having an easier time it’s on its way. Lin also runs the su- relatively new to the restaurant of late filling holes left by eateries. shi and teppanyaki joint Hino Oi- were up 5.1 percent to more than industry with limited capital, ac- $850 billion, according to Master- It came as a shock to many when shi at Campus Pointe near Fresno cording to representatives at the The Elephant Bar suddenly closed State. And while owners are keep- card SpendingPulse, which moni- Madera Economic Development tors spending in stores and online in north Fresno’s Villaggio Shop- ing hush on who is filling the other Commission. ping Center in 2017. But, it only half of the World Sports Café space, with all forms of payments. Online After some negotiating and sales did especially well in that time took a little more than a year for the Tracy Kashian, spokesperson for creating a viable financial plan, a space to be completely gutted and the shopping center, said a lease period — up 19.1 percent from 2017. lease was approved for Sugar Pine By all accounts, local retailers filled by Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, has been signed. Smokehouse. The aim for Franklin which opened in October. Its draw In other parts of the city, Living- geared up for a strong showing, was to fill a niche for a “blue collar” is handcrafted American food, as stone’s in Tower recently reopened with a number of stores and res- well as a dog-friendly patio area. after a fire closed the restaurant Dining | 5 Retail | 5 SENSITIVE TIME PRIORITY HANDLING PERIODICAL: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2018 ISSUE # 325481 $1.25 PER COPY USPS 145-100 SENDING HOLIDAY WISHES AND GRATITUDE FOR A WONDERFUL YEAR! From everyone at The Business Journal FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2018 www.thebusinessjournal.com 3 Homes | from 1 the property near Shepherd and Armstrong avenues, said “Everything that’s used in the house is first class — quality materials,” from the Caesarstone-brand quartz countertops to form-cast concrete mantles on each of the four fireplaces to the copper sinks, throughout the five-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom house, she said. “Everything is on a grand scale,” Ambati said, adding that the property includes an outdoor kitchen with a grill and refrigerator, along with a massive indoor kitchen; lush landscaping that includes 120 olive trees; distressed maple wood floors; and a mortar- boosted clay roof; and solar panels on the single-story Mediterranean-style home — actually, more of a small es- tate, as it sits on more than 3.6 acres. The home also features a closed-circuit security cam- era system and a game room, PHOTOS VIA MLS | The second-most expensive home of the year totals nearly 6,000 square feet near Maple and Copper avenues in Fresno. It sold for $2.32 million and features four in which the previous own- bedrooms and six bathrooms. ers’ pool table stayed — made part of the sale. that includes numerous rose has specialized in the luxury Of particular appeal, “is bushes. home market. the gorgeous backyard, with “It’s so serene and peace- In fact this is her second the view of the mountains, ful, you don’t even feel like time having brokered the the foothills and the tennis you’re in Fresno-Clovis. It’s most expensive home sale in court,” Ambati said, noting like you’re in a resort some- the four counties, the first the backyard also includes where.” involving a $2.38 million sale the outdoor kitchen for bar- Ambati knows about such in 2014. becuing and entertaining, as homes, as for the past 20 As for 2018, it has been well as the pool with a water- years of her more than 30- fall feature and landscaping year real estate career, she Homes | 4 Why Salespeople Fail... And What You Can Do About It GET YOUR FREE REPORT. Access your copy using a QR reader or visit: fullsalestraining.sandler.com/report For more information, Call: 559.412.8178 4 www.thebusinessjournal.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2018 Homes | from 3 a good year for the luxury home market here, she said. Although the Shepherd Av- enue home sold for $1.4 mil- lion less than the Valley’s most expensive home sale last year, Ambati noted that the number of homes sold for $1 million or more in Madera and Fresno counties jumped from 42 last year to 60 this year. As to why, she said, “I think the economy’s doing better. And there are more people in the luxury home market right now,” as consumer con- fidence has grown. Add to that increasing number of people from Southern California and the Bay Area who are relocating for cheaper costs of living, many of them working re- motely, spending just a day or two every week in those other areas, Ambati said. The rising costs of home construction is helping sell- ers, as that makes it cheaper to buy an existing luxury home than to buy empty land and build a high-end home PHOTOS VIA MLS | The third-most expensive home of the year totals nearly 5,809 square from scratch, she said. feet near Copper River Country Club in Fresno. Selling for $2.2 million, the home has four There was only a narrow bedrooms and four bathrooms. margin between the most ex- sold for $25,000 less. It has Club in Fresno, which sold for pensive home sold this year four bedrooms and six bath- $2.2 million. It has four bed- here and the one in second rooms. rooms and four bathrooms. place, a 5,982-square foot Third place went to a house on North Burnhaven 5,809-square-foot house on David Castellon | Writer can be reached at: Way near Maple and Cop- East Clubhouse Drive, just 490-3464 or e-mail per avenues in Fresno that west of Copper River Country [email protected] TOP HAND MEDIA Marketing & Advertising Agency SERIES CHECKING EARN WE UP TO $ DRIVE 700 WHEN YOU OPEN A NEW CONSUMER SIGNATURE SERIES CHECKING RESULTS ACCOUNT BY DECEMBER 31, 20181 see for yourself tophandmedia.com/tbj strategy creative media buys ∙ ∙ Visit PremierValleyBank.com/signature today! video ∙ social ∙ web ∙ design 1$700 bonus offer is not available to existing Premier Valley Bank consumer checking customers or those who had accounts open on or before August 31, 2018.