Downtown Fresno's Civic Center Square development will soon be home to the marketing arm of one of the Valley's largest industries.

The Raisin Administrative Committee and the California Raisin Marketing Board are trading in their north Fresno office for an 11,197 square-foot office at 2445 Capital Street, in the Civic Center Square commercial center. After 24 years at their previous location near First and Shields avenue, Gary Schulz, president and general manager of the Raisin Administrative Committee, said lower rents and availability of quality properties prompted the move.

Schulz said the new office also comes with 900 square-feet of on-site storage space.

The organizations looked at more than 50 potential locations around the region before making a choice.

"Downtown Fresno has a rich heritage and tradition," Schulz said in an e-mail. "The raisin industry has been instrumental in the economic vitality of the entire region and we are happy to play a small role in energizing downtown."

The organizations' 24 full-time employees plan to move into the new office in May. In addition, more than 100 different board and committee members have business at the office.

In a statement, Mayor Ashley Swearengin said: The San Joaquin Valley is the richest agricultural region in the United States and downtown Fresno is the ideal location to centralize agribusiness activity. I believe there is great benefit for agricultural associations, cooperatives and marketing associations to locate in downtown Fresno."

The Raisin Administrative Committee serves member growers by monitoring acreage production, raisin supplies and maintaining a reserve program to improve prices. The California Raisin Marketing Board is the marketing arm of the industry, promoting raisins all over the U.S. and the world. A forerunner to the organization came up with the famous California Raisins promotion from the 1980s and '90s.