The University of California, Davis, has entered into exclusive negotiations with the University Hospitality Group of Davis to finance, build, own and operate the conference center and 75-room hotel proposed for the campus.

Last fall, the original developer withdrew from the project citing time delays and a lawsuit related to the environmental impact report. Following dismissal of the lawsuit, the campus approached other developers who had previously expressed interest in the project. The university decided to enter into exclusive negotiations with the University Hospitality Group based on the developer's proposal of March 31.

The principals in University Hospitality Group are B.B. Patel and Ashok Patel, who own and operate a number of hotels and motels in northern California, including the Crown Plaza Cabana Hotel and Conference Center in Palo Alto and the Best Western Palm Court, the Aggie Inn and the University Park Inn in Davis.

Previous plans for the conference center included a new building for the Graduate School of Management. This will now proceed as a separate, university-funded project.

The proposed hotel and conference center will be located near the Interstate 80 entry to UC Davis, to the east of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.