Wexford Science & Technology, LLC

Connected by shared amenities accessible to all occupants, facilities are seamlessly woven together into a dynamic, thriving hub with an expansive open landscape and welcoming entry points inviting the neighboring communities. Aggie Square will boast various buildings and outdoor public areas designed with the ideas of placemaking and cultivating innovation and collaboration.

At its core will lie the Square, an open, central space surrounded by diverse amenities and hubs, fostering an environment conducive to brainstorming, teamwork, and creativity. Connected by ‘The Paseo,’ a scenic tree-lined pathway, the entire complex converges at the Square, creating seamless accessibility.

Among the four new structures is the Life Sciences, Technology & Engineering East (LSTE-E), a seven-story, 326,000-square-foot facility housing cutting-edge laboratories, incubators (Wexford ConnectLabs), offices, support spaces, and retail services. Parallel to the west, LSTE West (LTSE-W) mirrors its counterpart but incorporates the potential for a top-floor Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) space. The Life-Long Learning Tower (LLL), an 11-story, 334,000-square-foot high-rise, integrates offices, research spaces, classrooms, conference facilities, a café, and the Wexford Innovation Hall and Assembly Hallas well as access points to the LSTE-E on the first and second floors.

A unique facet of Aggie Square is the collaborative layout across LSTE-E, LSTE-W, and LLL buildings, blending laboratories, incubators, and communal spaces to merge academic and corporate research initiatives. This intentional design aims to foster collaboration and expedite the discovery, educational, and implementation processes.

Addressing housing scarcity in Sacramento, the Housing and Market Plaza offers 190 apartment units across five floors, primarily for UC Davis students and affiliates.

The plaza aims to bolster local and sustainable food initiatives by providing support for food literacy and education, featuring a pavilion for farmers' markets, offering healthy food options, and hosting community-oriented programs.

The Mobility Hub, separate from but adjacent to Aggie Square, offers electric buses, shuttle services, carshare, bike-share, and other sustainable transportation alternatives, encouraging eco-friendly movement across the campus. Accommodating both present and future demands, a 1,700-stall parking is included with Phase 1 as well.

Aggie Square substantially contributes to Sacramento's economic landscape and environmental sustainability. With exacting project demands, such as natural gas bans, the project adheres to the University of California’s Office of the President (UCOP) Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which pledges improved energy efficiency, utilization of renewable energy sources, and building electrification. The project also surpasses the California Building Standards Code (Title 24-2019) and incorporates other Aggie Square-specific policies to catalyze achieving ambitious sustainability objectives.

The project design is set to exceed the energy use intensity target of 95 kbtu per square foot per year (kbtu/sf-yr) for LSTE-E and 50 kbtu/sf-yr for the LLL facility, coupled with a targeted 36 percent reduction in water use by 2025. Aligned with the University of California's commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2025, Aggie Square is dedicated to sustainability and carbon neutrality, seeking LEED Gold certification to underscore its environmental responsibility and high-performance building design.

In pursuing the goal for Aggie Square to be all-electric and powered by 100-percent clean electricity, to exemplify UC Davis’s and Wexford’s commitment to electrification and a decarbonized future, AEI leverages its expertise in sustainable engineering planning and design across the campus’ MEP infrastructure. This includes innovative elements, such as heat recovery chillers, air source heat pumps for heating water and domestic hot water, CO2 heat pumps for process steam makeup water preheat, exhaust heat recovery coilers, active chilled beams, air quality sensing demand control ventilation for Gross Anatomy, and variably exhaust discharge based on wind tunnel testing.

Both LSTE-E and LLL buildings feature fully electric HVAC systems utilizing heat recovery chillers for primary heating and cooling. The LSTE-E employs exhaust heat recovery coils within exhaust fan units, while the LLL incorporates heat pump chillers as a secondary heating source. Additionally, the LSTE-E has electric boilers for secondary heating and electric steam generation capabilities. AEI's commitment aligns seamlessly with Aggie Square's broader sustainability objectives, further reinforcing its position as a pioneer in environmentally conscious and forward-thinking development.

Aggie Square is poised to redefine research, education, and collaboration. By linking UC Davis's schools of Education, Agriculture, and Medicine with local entrepreneurs and the city, Aggie Square establishes a dynamic knowledge center rooted in innovation. This evolutionary initiative spurs economic growth in Sacramento and accelerates the translation of cutting-edge research into practical applications, facilitating scientific progress.

Going beyond the conventional university campus model, Aggie Square distinguishes itself through its commitment to community benefits. A Community Benefits Partnership Agreement, shaped by extensive local input, allocates resources to short-term construction jobs and long-term permanent positions. With an estimated one-time economic impact of $2.6 billion from Phases 1 and 2 and an ongoing annual economic impact of $5 billion, Aggie Square is anticipated to invigorate the regional economy and support over 25,000 jobs.

Aggie Square's comprehensive approach encompasses education, research, industry joint effort, and community engagement. As construction progresses on schedule, Aggie Square is poised to emerge as Sacramento's premier economic development opportunity, bringing together university resources, industry know-how, and community partnerships to shape a vibrant and inclusive future for the region.