REPORT TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 24, 2026 FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director Planning and Development Department BY: ASHLEY ATKINSON, AICP, Assistant Director Planning and Development Department SUBJECT ..Title Hearing to consider eligibility for listing on the Local Register of Historic Resources the property located at 5045 E Butler Ave. (Assessor Parcel Number: 472-021-30) ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommend that the Historic Preservation Commission review the available evidence, hold the hearing and determine whether to initiate designation of the property located at 5045 E Butler Ave (Assessor Parcel Number: 472-021-30) as a Historic Resource. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City has received an entitlement application for redevelopment of the property located at 5045 E Butler Ave. The site was previously developed in 1971 to house the West Coast processing center of the US Internal Revenue Service. It is not a designated Historic Resource nor located in a historic district but based upon its date of construction, association with historic events, and architectural characteristics, it may be eligible for listing on the Local Register of Historic Resources under Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) Sec. 12-1607. BACKGROUND The complex at 5045 E. Butler Ave. was constructed in 1970 to serve as a processing center for the US Internal Revenue Service's Western Region and was known as the IRS Service Center. It is located on approximately 50 acres on the north side of East Butler Avenue in the Sunnyside area. The property is developed with five interconnected buildings, courtyards, and parking lots. The one-story building rests on raised concrete foundations and has flat roofs with no eaves and metal fascia. The exterior walls are concrete with a repetitive pattern of "rubble"-style cast stone panels. The panels are separated by vertical and horizontal raw concrete strips and narrow grooves. Its narrow rectangular windows are metal-framed, vertical, and fixed. The primary entrances are typical metal and glass storefronts. The design emphasizes rectangular shapes throughout (Exhibit B). In 1969, the Nixon administration announced that the Fresno area had been formally selected as the site for a major IRS data processing center serving the West Coast. The availability of labor due to declining agricultural work and a large college population was cited as the primary reason for selecting this region. Fresno-area communities began encouraging people to get training for the coming IRS jobs. After a period of debate, May 1970, it was announced the center would be located at this site, in what was then unincorporated southeast Fresno (Exhibit B). The center was designed by Walter Wagner of Wagner-Temple Inc. After working in a variety of positions, in 1945 Wagner started his own firm, Walter Wagner & Partners, the first firm in Fresno to integrate architectural design and engineering. Some of the firm's notable projects include Trinity Lutheran Church (1955); Rhodes Department store (1958); Fresno City College (1960); Fresno Police Headquarters (1960); Manchester Shopping Center, Fresno (1955); and the Fresno County Courthouse (1964). Walter-Temple Inc. formed in 1966, and the firm's primary work consisted of public schools and government buildings such as the Inyo-Van Ness parking structure ("Spiral Garage", 1968). In 1978, Walter Wagner was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) (Exhibit B). In 2016, the IRS announced it would phase out tax return processing in Fresno, and the center was scheduled to close in 2021. During its 49 years in operation (1972-2021), the IRS center was a major non-agricultural employer in the region with a peak labor force of 5,700 (Exhibit B). ANALYSIS Per FMC Sec. 12-1606, Duties and Powers of the Commission, a primary duty of the commission is the "identification, designation and preservation of Historic Resources and Historic Districts owned by the city or located within the city limits." Any building, structure, object or site may be designated as a Historic Resource if it is found by the Commission and Council to meet the Designation Criteria in FMC SEC. 12-1607 (Exhibit D): (1) It has been in existence more than fifty years, and it possesses aspects of integrity to convey its significance based upon location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling or association, and: (i) It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or (ii) It is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or (iii) It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values; or (iv) It has yielded or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history. The Historic Resources Evaluation prepared for this property concludes that this structure appears eligible for designation as a Historic Resource under FMC 12-1609, Criteria (1)(i) for its association with the growth and development of Fresno from 1971 to 1976. It also concludes that the building is eligible under Criteria (1)(iii) as an excellent example of the Brutalist style of architecture as applied to a federal building, and the work of local master architect Walter E. Wagner, FAIA. Regarding Criteria (1)(i), the evaluation notes that the Fresno location was specifically selected because of the availability of a large labor force. When Fresno was confirmed as the location of this new center, it was used as a selling point for real estate, businesses, and education and a catalyst for construction and higher employment rates. After the final location was announced, the City of Fresno annexed 564 acres on its southeast boundary including the IRS site. By 1984, agricultural lands to the south and west of the site had been developed with single- and multi-family housing. During its 49 years in operation (1972-2021), the IRS center was a major non-agricultural employer. As such, it facilitated significant growth in Fresno in the form of housing and commercial development (Exhibit B). Regarding Criteria (1)(ii), the evaluation concludes that while noteworthy political figures were involved in locating the IRS center in Fresno area, the center is not closely associated with the achievements for which these people are most known, and it is not significant under these criteria (Exhibit B). Regarding Criteria (1)(iii), the evaluation notes that the IRS center "embodies the distinctive characteristics of the Brutalist style of architecture as applied to federal buildings," and that, as discussed above, the building was designed by local master architect Walter Wagner, FAIA (Exhibit B). However, the City's Mid-Century Modernism Context Statement does not cite 5045 E. Butler as an example of the Brutalist style in Fresno. The sole reference to the IRS center in that statement is as one of Walter Wagner's 13 principal works, as noted above. The Mid-Century Modernism Context Statement also notes that Brutalism "was meant to be expressive with concrete as the primary building material and finish by revealing the texture of wood formwork." 5045 E Butler does not reflect this defining Brutalist characteristic; rather, the walls are of a pebbled stone texture. The evaluation ascribes significance to the fact that in 1971, Wagner was named architect of the year by the Building Stone Institute for several projects that utilized natural stone, including the IRS center. However, the Building Stone Institute is a trade association that promotes the use of stone as a building material, rather than a professional organization such as the American Institute of Architects. Additionally, it could be argued that with a single low-slung story, this building does not embody the monumental massing that defines the Brutalist style (Exhibit C). Regarding Criteria (1)(iv), the assessment concludes that the building does not have the potential to yield information important to the history or prehistory of the local area, California, or the nation and that it is not significant under these criteria (Exhibit B). ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The determination of eligibility and initiation of designation is not a project for the purposes of CEQA, as it will not result in a direct or indirect change in the environment. CONCLUSION Staff recommend that the Historic Preservation Commission review the available evidence, hold the hearing, and determine whether to initiate designation of the property located at 5045 E Butler Ave (Assessor Parcel Number: 472-021-30) as a Historic Resource. ATTACHMENTS: Exhibit A - Notice of Public Hearing Exhibit B - Historic Resources Evaluation for 5045 E. Butler Ave. Exhibit C - Mid-Century Modernism Context Statement Exhibit D - Fresno Municipal Code Designation Criteria and Process