UC Davis and the city of Sacramento announced on Wednesday the first planned development at the ambitious Aggie Square project: a $60 million, 40-bed rehabilitation hospital for stroke and brain trauma victims.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg says he believes Aggie Square, a planned innovation and technology hub near the existing UC Davis Medical Center, can be developed on a fast track — and that the hospital announcement is proof.
“We're impatient — in the right way. We're willing it with purpose and intentionality," the mayor said.
Aggie Square will sit on the border of Council member Eric Guerra's district. He says these projects present a unique opportunity to improve the surrounding neighborhood.
"There's a lot of vacant lots on Stockton Boulevard, and using the energy on this to help build some housing and address some of the needs that we have, I think are going to be great for not only jobs, but also revitalizing some of the downsides of this corridor,” he said.
This old county building will be torn down to make room for the new UC Davis hospital. Randol White / Capital Public Radio
Guerra says affordable housing in Oak Park and nearby Tahoe Park needs to be part of plan.
Steinberg and UC Davis Chancellor Gary May announced the location of Aggie Square this past April.
The mayor predicts that Aggie Square will have sweeping effects on the Oak Park neighborhood. His goal is to make sure they are positive for existing residents.
“Our young people from Oak Park — from all of the neighborhoods of Sacramento — need to be first in line for these jobs,” Steinberg said. “And that means we need to create the pathways with education and work training — the right kind of work training programs — to ensure that they are first in line."
When completely built out, it's expected to have more than 2 million square feet of technology research space spanning over 25 acres.
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