The Cannery Development Project, a housing project that will include public parks, green belts, urban gardens and a pool began the construction process on May 2 with a groundbreaking ceremony.
The development will be built on the former Hunt-Wesson tomato cannery site located at 1111 East Covell Blvd. The lot is approximately 100 acres — approximately 20 of which will be attributed for open space.
The buildings that are expected to go up inside the development include 540 single family lots and a business park.
According to Katherine Hess, the community development administrator for the City of Davis, the project was required to suit the surrounding agricultural area as well as the environmental and aesthetic sensibility of Davis.
“As the first development to be approved in Davis in nearly 25 years, there is a need for new homes in order to accommodate new families as well as for empty-nesters in Davis,” said Kevin Carson, Northern California president for the New Home Company, in an email.
Further, The Cannery will redevelop the former tomato cannery site, vacant since its closure in 1999, into a mixed-use multi-generational neighborhood.
New Home Company bought the vacant lot from Conagra Foods on April 15 of this year; however, tentative plans for the site were approved by the city in 2013, according to Jennifer Border, associate civil engineer for the City of Davis.
Demolition of the tomato cannery that was in operation for nearly 40 years until its closure has begun and is scheduled to continue until June of this year. Demolition is expected to continue through the summer. Homes will be available in 2015 and build out will continue through the year, according to Carson.
“We always say that construction activities are noisy, dusty and can impact traffic, those are the three things that neighbors can expect,” Border said.
According to a press release from the City of Davis, the construction of housing is scheduled to begin in spring of 2015 and the end date of the project is yet to be determined. Construction will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Border said that neighbors may not see any of the improvements until connective construction begins along Covell.
“The project has been through a nearly 10-year planning effort, during which the New Home Company have worked closely with local community groups, individual members of the community, city staff and decision makers to ensure that the neighborhood being planned was right for Davis in terms of integrating bicycle amenities, understanding the demographics in order to provide the right mix of home choices and incorporating sustainability features into the homes and the neighborhood,” Carson said.
Additionally, the homes will be energy efficient and solar powered, according to Carson.
Seven acres have been allotted for an urban farm that will act as a buffer between the surrounding agricultural lands and the development. The urban farm will be operated by Yolo County-based Center for Land-Based Learning’s graduates who are aspiring to begin their own farming businesses.
According to Hess, the fiscal analysis of the Cannery Development Project showed a net-positive to the City of Davis once the project is completed. Additionally, construction taxes will contribute to the funding of city projects.
The project includes a wide variety of homes that are geared to accommodate different kinds of residents. The housing styles range from elevator-served stacked flat condominiums to alley-loaded homes with above garage units, and attached row homes to single-family homes with detached accessory units, Carson said.
According to Border, the parks, greenbelts and model homes should be finished by next spring.
SYDNEY COHEN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
Photo by Jennifer Wu.
