8/26/2023

By: Anthony Corda, Marketing Analyst

Photo Credit: Fresno Bee, 2/13/2023

Terance Frazier is more than just a city developer and businessman; he is a community leader who has led critical efforts to invest and transform neighborhoods that have been historically marginalized and disinvested in. His own life story of being raised by a single mother and experiencing homelessness has guided his work and passion for serving and empowering the community he lives in. Mr. Frazier understands that education, mentorship and being invested in were critical factors in his success, which is why TFS Investments LLC, a company he started over two decades ago, holds national success in a diverse type of commercial and housing developments in California, Texas, and Georgia. Beyond the success in business, Mr. Frazier has been an active community member, serving on many local boards from the Fresno State Alumni Board to Valley Children’s Hospital Foundation. Currently, he is also the President of the Central Valley Sports Foundation (CVCSF) and serves as the President of Central Cal Baseball Academy. The CVCSF is a non-profit organization, with a mission to facilitate an environment where at-risk youth can not only engage in athletics, but receive mentoring, learn life skills, such as good sportsmanship, and socialize in a safe environment. Through his facilitated programs, the foundation emphasizes the importance of community and fosters opportunities for physical activity and aims to cultivate personal and cultural understanding of others. Terance’s background in professional baseball as well as being the founder and president of his own non-profit, Central Cal Baseball Academy, solidly established his qualifications to effectively manage operations as the president of the foundation. Through his work on these two nonprofits, he has impacted thousands of young people who may not have had the opportunity to be a successful student athlete. His coaching and mentoring have led many of his young athletes to get to the Big League.

Terance’s work in the community hasn’t been without adversity or roadblocks, from not having the adequate local baseball facilities to keep his baseball academy playing locally to the numerous public attacks of his character by local elected officials. This all resulted in impacts to his business and ability to successfully fundraise so that Granite Park has the resources to address the deferred maintenance or be able to add amenities to meet the needs of the neighborhood families and children. Despite that, he continues to hold steadfast in his genuinely, altruistic endeavors. He continues to do his best to give back to the people in the communities of Fresno that need it and has made lemonade out of lemons.

Terance has spent over two decades committed to revitalizing the core of the City of Fresno and it is evident in the many projects he has completed that have been transformative. He’s taken hundreds of distressed properties and turned them into homes for many first-time home buyers. A notable development as you head downtown from the Tower District, is the 54-unit Fultonia complex. Terance purchased the property back in 2010 and after three weeks of living on site, he gave it the overhaul it so desperately needed. The modern art deco-styled apartment complex that sits right across the street is sure to catch one’s eye as well. While staying at the Fultonia, Terance noticed that the property across the street was dilapidated and served as an eyesore in the South Tower. Going the extra mile, Terance purchased that property in partnership with the Fresno Housing Authority, out of it they constructed the 31-unit apartment complex that serves over two dozen families in need of an affordable housing option.

Another transformative project in his portfolio is Granite Park. This sports complex is owned by the City of Fresno and under their control, it sat vacant, locked and full of tall weeds for close to a decade. Anyone who has been to Granite Park recently knows it looks beter than it ever has and it has enjoyed over 400,000 visitors annually. This success can be attributed to Terance’s oversight as the President of both the Central Cal Baseball Academy and Central Valley Community Sports Foundation (CVCSF), which is the nonprofit that used to operate Granite Park. The park has not just become a critical sports complex for the community but has also contributed to the generation of additional tax revenues for the city and county. Despite facing ongoing unfounded criticism, Terance has shown remarkable resilience in fulfilling the goal of his agreement he signed with the city; the park has been revitalized and has hosted numerous community events and programs specifically tailored to support at-risk youth.

While Terance has made significant contributions to his community as president of both non-profits, as a local developer and stand-out pillar of the community, the fact remains that in his journey the quote of “no good deed, goes unpunished” stands to be true. In 2015, Terance secured a contract with the City of Fresno through CVCSF which stipulated that the organization would operate and revamp the city owned facility. The contract further stipulated that the city would pay $150,000 to the organization as an annual fee in exchange for the nonprofit’s services. In 2018, to compensate for additional necessary repairs and labor, Terance asked for an increase in the agreement. Up until that point, the non-profit’s services had essentially come at a discount. Running a park of its size typically costs over $400,000. The ask was a modest ask given that the City of Fresno was previously paying $190,000 annually to keep the gate locked and mow the lawn every so often. The city felt this request merited an audit, which they would release prematurely in 2019. The premature release of the audit resulted in significant damage being done not only to his professional reputation, its release also negatively impacted his network of associates. To add insult to injury, after the discovery of fraudulent actions on behalf of a now-indicted, former congressman who served alongside him on the board for CVCSF prior to their departure, Terance has now become guilty by association simply for following his passion of serving the community. City officials have now linked Terance’s name to the wrongdoings of his former associate, thus driving away any potential business associates and therefore causing severe financial distress not only on Terance but also on his well-established development business, TFS Investments LLC. And, have gone as far as killing one of his housing developments in downtown Fresno.

In a justified reproach in 2020, Terance filed a lawsuit against select city officials who have engaged in defamatory behavior. The lawsuit outlines how the city’s actions have been a detriment to his character and business but also highlights breach of contract as well as discriminatory business practices and obstruction of free speech.

Photo Credit: GVWire 2/8/2023, Your Central Valley, 6/29/2018