66.4 F
Davis

Davis, California

Friday, April 26, 2024

A season of change

The city of Davis has also undergone its own changes over the summer. Here’s a sampling of new and departed businesses.

New Businesses:

– Nina and Tom, 129 E St.

– Cloud Forest Cafe, 222 D St.

– Davis Sushi Buffet Japanese Restaurant, 707 2nd St.

– Red Orchid Restaurant, 1750 E. 8th St.

– Uncle Vito’s Slice of NY, 520 2nd St.

– Yolo Berry Yogurt, 316 C St.

 

Departed Businesses:

– Bower Bird

– Togo’s (downtown Davis)

– Aesop’s Room

– Kabul Afghan Cuisine

– JoJo’s Cafe

By RACHEL FILIPINAS

Aggie Arts Editor

 

Bringing more than high temperatures, summertime in Davis also marked the end of some ongoing construction projects on campus.

 

Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science

A brand new building with state-of-the-art facilities was one of Robert Mondavi’s last gifts to UC Davis.

Currently housed in Wickson Hall and Cruess Hall, the departments of viticulture and enology and food science will have a new home in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, located southwest of the Mondavi Center.

The expansion and new lab facilities will allow two departments greater opportunities to interact, said Charles Bamforth, chair of food science and technology.

One of these new facilities is a 3500 square foot food sensory theater, which will contain kitchen laboratories and individual testing stations for teaching and research.

“We already have the best food science faculty in the world: The new building means that they have the environment to work in what they deserve,” Bamforth said in an e-mail interview.

Unitrans Hutchinson Bus Terminal

The new Unitrans Hutchinson Bus Terminal should alleviate problems of delays, missed transfers and overcrowding.

“Right now it’s kind of hit-or-miss,” said Geoff Straw, general manager of Unitrans. “The best thing to do is bring all the buses to one space. Everything will pulse there, similar to what happens at the [Memorial Union] terminal.”

Located across from the Silo Union, the terminal is scheduled for opening by October 12.

The new terminal will affect only the Silo-bound buslines A, C, D, J, L and W and buses going to the UC Davis Medical Center. Bus stops at Hutchinson and Bioletti streets were also consolidated for this expansion, Straw said.

A centralized system will also allow for layover buses on that are on standby to be parked at the terminal instead of along the street. This will allow standby buses to be deployed immediately during busy hours as well as free up more travel lane space for cars and bikes, Straw said.

Hunt Hall Renovations

With faculty offices and studio space scattered across campus, the environmental design and landscape architecture departments will finally have a new home in Hunt Hall.

After sharing space in Walker Hall with the design program and having classrooms and faculty offices in several temporary buildings, the move was much needed, said landscape architecture professor Patsy Owens.

“We’ve been spread all over the place,” Owens said. “[Now landscape architecture students] will have a home base on campus.”

New facilities will allow for more studio space for students. As an accredited program, the department is required to provide each student with his or her own work area within the classroom that is accessible outside of class hours.

King Hall Renovations and Expansion

Constructed over 40 years ago to house only a handful of students, the UC Davis School of Law at King Hall has seen many changes over the decades.

“It was built for a much smaller student body than we have today and for a much different kind of legal education,” School of Law dean Kevin Johnson said in an e-mail interview. “We now have a student body of about 570 [Juris Doctor] students and 15-20 [Masters of Law] students. Indeed, the school of law has been literally bursting at the seams.”

Over 27,000 square feet of new and renovated areas are expected to serve as a new entrance, an expanded law library, staff offices, study areas and conference rooms.

Designs also include an art trial practice and appellate moot court room, which Johnson said will be used to host actual arguments of the California Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the California Court of Appeals. Completion of construction is expected October 2009.

For more information on other construction projects on campus visit ae.ucdavis.edu.

RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com.

 

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