Photo by David Castellon

By this time next year, the majority of the Fresno County District Attorney’s staff likely will be working out of a new headquarters.

That’s because the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve a lease agreement to occupy the majority of the Rowell Building in Downtown Fresno.

The county originally entered a lease agreement on the building back in 2017, but the owner, Lance Kashian & Co. — operating as River Park Properties III — pulled out of the deal because it couldn’t acquire some financing with the help of a federal program to help cover the costs of a top-to-bottom renovation of the building that was built in 1913.

Another, more expensive lease was set to be considered by the supervisors in 2018, but the item was removed with no explanation.

As result, the new lease will cost the county $17.3 million over 10 years — more than $2 million more than in the original agreement — with an option to continue leasing for another 10 years or an option to buy the Rowell Building for $18 million.

The DA’s Office will occupy the entire building at the northeast corner of Tulare Street and Van Ness Avenue — a total of 73,210 square feet.

Current expectations are for the Rowell renovations to be done by March 2020 and DA’s staff currently scattered among three buildings to move in next summer.

Read more about the purchase in this week’s print edition of The Business Journal.