This year promises the opening of several exciting developments on campus. Here are five of the most high-profile projects coming soon.
1. Aggie Square
Officially opening in May, Aggie Square is situated on 11 acres in Sacramento near the UC Davis Medical Center. Aggie Square’s first five structures make up an innovation district featuring more than 1.2 million square feet of public and private space for research and academic pursuits; support for startups launching new businesses; continuing education and job training; and community uses.
New housing on the Aggie Square site is taking the form of Anova Aggie Square, a 252-bed development featuring floor plans ranging from micro-studios to four bedrooms. The apartments will be available this spring, with university affiliates having first priority to lease. It will include both market-rate and affordable housing units.
Aggie Square's construction is funded by private investment. Wexford Science & Technology is leasing university-owned land to finance, build and manage the Aggie Square buildings. The university and other partners are leasing spaces in the buildings.
Sixty percent of the space at Aggie Square will be leased by the university. The School of Medicine will have a significant presence at Aggie Square, with research teams and affiliated centers conducting collaborative, multidisciplinary research and advancing partnerships focusing on emerging technologies in neurosciences, cancer, surgical biomedical engineering and musculoskeletal research.
Several other university Aggie Square tenants have been announced, including the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, known for its pioneering animal DNA testing and genetics services, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, whose new master’s degree program in medical device development will be based entirely at Aggie Square.
Aggie Square will also be home to Wexford Science & Technology’s Connect Labs Sacramento, a 50,000-square-feet space featuring pre-built and furnished lab, support and office space with curated amenities, services and shared equipment for emerging and growth companies, particularly in life sciences, biomedical engineering, technology and data sciences, among others.
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2. KDVS New Home
Campus radio station KDVS is set to move to TB-24. Moving from Lower Freeborn Hall, the station will relocate above ground next to the Silo. The new space will include a main and backup studio, a live performance space, a listening room, an office and a record storage library with high density shelving for keeping the historic archive in place.
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3. Bird Flight Research Center
The new flight hall will allow the College of Engineering and the School of Veterinary Medicine to perform research into how bird flight can inform aircraft design. High speed video and photogrammetry will enable imaging and modeling birds of prey in flight. The research will influence design of uncrewed aerial systems (drones) and aid in rehabilitation of injured birds.
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4. Arboretum Waterway Enhancements
Work on the Arboretum Waterway was completed a year early and is slowly opening to the public again. Centered around Lake Spafford, the work increased overall stormwater capacity, replaced most of the concrete perimeter with earthen banks, and added native plants to the area.
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5. Solano Park
Originally built in 1962, Solano Park housing was demolished this winter to make way for an overpass that will connect the area to a parcel of land east of the railroad tracks where private student housing will be built.