FOWLER – The city may demolish one of its oldest structures to make way for new economic opportunities, but efforts are being taken to uphold its historic value to the community.
On May 5, the Fowler City Council gave direction on what to do with the historic Fowler Christian Church, located on the corner of Sixth and Tuolumne streets. For years, it has been planned to be converted into a mixed-use retail and housing space, but higher than expected costs have made that goal more challenging than expected.
The bulk of the discussion focused on how to balance preserving the church’s historical design while moving the project along in a cost-effective manner. Some council members leaned heavier into preservation, and others sought to prioritize the project’s completion over aesthetics.
The site’s final design is still very much conceptual, and the agenda item for it was purely meant for the council to offer some direction for the project. The council gave staff the okay to revise the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) for the project, with added flexibility to alter the church’s design if necessary in order to save costs.
Although some on the council seemed open to the option of demolishing the church to make way for an entirely new building, concepts provided by architect Paul Halajian made it clear that even if this were to happen, the final design would honor the church’s original look.
“I don’t like it when people come in and say, ‘We have to tear this whole thing down to put in something new,’ but sometimes it can’t be avoided,” said Halajian, who also happens to be a member of Fresno’s Historic Preservation Commission. “We tried, we did our best, and our solution was to just pay homage to it.”
The item was presented to the council by Community and Economic Development Director Matthew Flood, who began by giving the council a refresher on the project’s background.
The city entered into the DDA with property owner Bill Purewal in 2023, with the goal of renovating the church to fit the new desired purpose. After further due diligence from Purewal, a request was later made to modify the agreement, and a “revised and restated” DDA was entered in 2024.
Flood explained that after being hired on with the city of Fowler in 2025, he met with Purewal and his team to get updates on the project. Purewal expressed concerns that the original concept would be too costly because of the church’s age, and suggested demolishing the entire structure to start fresh.
Staff then gathered their own observations on the building, and it was determined that Purewal’s concerns were likely founded.
Given that a key point of the previous two DDAs was to preserve the building’s historic design, and with so much time having passed already with little progress being made, staff saw it appropriate to bring it back to council for feedback.
Before opening the item up to council member questions and comments, Flood showed some of the design concepts provided by Halajian to showcase the more modern look the site could take on.
Councilmember Daniel Parra commented on the item first, saying that since the church’s design originates from the East Coast, and not the local area, he’d rather prioritize efficient use of the space over preservation.
Councilmember Karnig Kazarian followed up, saying that although he’d like to see elements of the church maintained in some way, he’d be “amenable” to other outcomes that could help move the project along. Later, he also suggested that if the church were to be torn down, the building’s original windows could be implemented into the new design.
Mayor Pro Tem Amarjeet Gill shared similar sentiments to Parra, adding that because of the investment Purewal has already put into this project, she’d like to see as much of the space used as possible to maximize retail and housing offerings.
Mayor Juan Mejia spoke next, expressing his approval of Halajian’s concepts and saying that they captured both “fit and function.” Although he acknowledged the potential need for demolition, he also wanted to see part of Fowler’s history preserved, whether traditional or not.
“It may be an East Coast design, but it’s been in Fowler long enough to where you want to maintain something of it there,” said Mejia during the discussion. “I understand if he’s got to tear it down, but paying homage to what was there — I think that design works.”
With these points considered, the council settled on the direction of revising the DDA with less emphasis on preservation, and maintaining more frequent check-ins on the project’s status. According to Flood during the discussion, Purewal would like to have the new DDA finalized within the next two months.
City Manager Michael Reid later told the Mid Valley Times that once the project’s design gets more finalized, it will eventually come back to council for further discussion on how much of the original church should remain intact.
