Recently, UC Davis has decided to move forward with projects to expand the Hyatt Place Hotel and extend Old Davis Road.
The project aims to attract larger conferences to the UC Davis Conference Center and simplify the routing and experience for new visitors with the improvements to Old Davis Road.
“With the extension, drivers will be able to go right past the hotel and wind up over by A Street,” said Sid England, vice chancellor for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability. “This plan to move the road out to the outer edge of campus has been a plan for a long time.”
The extension also aims to convert existing road alignment to bike and pedestrian paths in an effort to shift vehicles away from the arboretum.
According to the public notice of preparation, the extension would construct approximately 1,100 feet of new roadway, connecting the southern portion to the south side of Parking Lot 5.
“It would make the southern part of campus more like regular campus,” England said. “It would also increase connections to downtown.”
The proposed project will improve the roadway connection so that visitors can easily connect a visit to the Mondavi Center with shopping or dining opportunities in downtown Davis.
The expansion of the year-old Hyatt Place Hotel, which contractually houses all Mondavi Center performers, hopes to draw larger conferences to the campus. The hotel will add 52 additional rooms to the right of its current building, taking the total number of rooms from 75 to 127.
“Certain conferences have over 100 attendees, and right now we aren’t able to accommodate all of them,” said Rob Peterson, Hyatt Place Hotel general manager. “With the added 52 rooms, UC Davis will have a better shot when bidding to host large conferences.”
The public notice also states that the expansion will minimize traffic impacts and associated contributions to global warming by enabling conference participants to minimize automobile travel between off-site hotel locations and the existing conference center.
Both projects are undergoing a focused tiered environmental impact report, a public review that ends April 21. There is yet to be any opposition to the projects.
The California Aggie was unable to reach Mary Hayakawa, executive director of real estate, who is knowledgeable about the project’s timeline and budget.
ANDY VERDEROSA can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
