HUGHSON -- Billy Fernandes strolls the aisles of the branch library here. After selecting a few items, the 18-year-old Hughson High School graduate settles into a chair and spreads books and magazines on a round table.

Several computers form a semicircle in the middle of the airy, one-room library on Third Street.

Until last fall, the library was in a small building on Hughson Avenue. The old library had worn-out carpet and a musty smell, said Isabel Figueroa, branch manager.

Fernandes likes the new library. "There's more room to sit around and look over stuff."

The library is just one of the recent additions to Third Street, which after 20 years has a new look. Dilapidated buildings have been replaced in a revival that gives a town plaza feel to the street, south of Hughson Avenue, which is the city's main drag.

The library, a new medical clinic and a private pharmacy line one side of Third. The Daily Bread Cafe, the Hughson Fruit and Nut Festival office, the Chamber of Commerce, a public computer lab and a Community Center are across the street.

The United Samaritans Foundation and several service agencies are next to the Daily Bread Cafe. The of- fices are housed strip-mall- style in new buildings.

Planning for the area began two years ago, and the project was completed in October.

"It's a lot better. It makes Hughson look more clean- cut," Fernandes said, glancing out the library door at the pristine, off-white buildings.

The new restaurant has an outdoor patio with flowers on each table and in barrels along the sides. Live folk or jazz bands perform occasionally.

Third Street's evolution began nearly five years ago, when financial problems threatened the Hughson Medical Office. Many people were unaware it was on Hughson Avenue and went elsewhere for health care, officials said.

Eventually a partnership was formed among the city, Stanislaus County and the United Samaritans Foundation, and plans for a new clinic and resource area took shape. The foundation, a Christian charity, put about $2.5 million into the project, demolishing everything on Third Street and rebuilding. The county and the businesses on Third Street have leases with the foundation. Pacific Bell donated $10,000 for the computer lab.

"That's the kind of partnership that's becoming more common (in cities)," said Councilwoman Cathee Vaughn.

In exchange for space now designated as a Community Center, the city reduced the foundation's building and planning fees and allowed the street to be used for parking, Vaughn said.

Truck driver Phil Vansandt, a Hughson resident, strolled through the area last week.

"It's nice to be able to walk and see this instead of what was here. This is a really great deal," Vansandt said.

The United Samaritans Foundation moved a food bank to Third Street from St. Anthony's Church on Euclid Avenue. A clothing distribution center was moved from City Hall. Foundation site manager Barbara Bawanan said that since then, the foundation's programs have had a 20 percent increase in volunteers.

"I think we're more visible here," she said.

Every morning volunteers prepare lunches for the needy in the Daily Bread Cafe kitchen, which the restaurant owners share with the foundation. A truck picks up the food about 11 a.m. and drops it off in Waterford, Hughson, Empire, Hickman and Denair. Up to 400 lunches are given out each day, Bawanan said.

Visibility has helped the library, too. Branch manager Figueroa said more people are applying for library cards.

"We've been ordering more books to meet the needs of the community," she said. "Now that things are really changing, we're looking at more books, more hours, programs; it's booming, it's exciting -- I love it."

Next door at the new Hughson Medical Office, receptionist Linda Bermudez recalled when three doctors practiced in a space designed for one.

"It was getting to where we were on top of each other, and you know how people get cranky when it's crowded," she said.

Up to four receptionists worked in the Hughson Avenue office, which had only one reception window and two computers. The new clinic has five windows and six computers, Bermudez said. Five employees, including a new medical records keeper, can work behind the front counter.

"We register the people a lot faster. They don't have much of a wait," Bermudez said.

Isabel Mendoza agreed. The Hughson resident visited the clinic last week with her 4-year- old son, Adrian, who had an appointment. "This is a lot better," she said in Spanish. "The pueblo is growing. It needed something like this."

For city officials, the Third Street project filled a long-existing void. "It was a need. The county wanted a larger clinic, which they got, (and) a larger library," Councilman Jim King said. "The city has the meeting facility across the street. I think that it worked out just fine. It's a definite improvement, not just for the area, but for the city as a whole."

Staff writer Monica Linggi can be reached at 578-2338.

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee