By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer

Imagine walking through a vibrant, futuristic hub in Oak Park 10 to 20 years from now: sleek modern buildings housing cutting-edge biotech firms, bustling cafes filled with local entrepreneurs, and young people who grew up in the area working in innovative jobs that were once out of reach.

The vision for Aggie Square, a $1.1 billion innovation district, is not only about high-tech research and industry growth but also about being a catalyst for lasting change in the surrounding community.

On May 2, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May, city of Sacramento leaders, developer Wexford Science and Technology LLC, business partners, and community members celebrated the ribbon-cutting for Aggie Square, marking the culmination of eight years of planning for the district. The first phase of the 11-acre site, located on Stockton Boulevard near UCD Medical Center in Oak Park, includes cutting-edge labs, classrooms, and a residential building to help support a thriving innovation ecosystem. Aggie Square is positioned as a hub of education, collaboration, and discovery, bringing the university’s research to life alongside private-sector innovation.

May expressed excitement about the project’s potential, calling Aggie Square’s opening a major milestone for UC Davis as Aggie Square becomes the region’s newest innovation district.

“It’s where the brightest minds from UC Davis, industry leaders, and startups will come together and spark collaboration and innovation that will benefit our region and the world for generations to come,” May said at the ribbon-cutting.

The completion of the project’s first phase delivered 767,000 square feet of new development, including wet and dry research labs, classrooms, shared innovation spaces, and a flexible lab infrastructure designed for startups and growth-stage companies in biotechnology, engineering, and data science. Also unveiled was ANOVA Aggie Square, a 190-unit residential building that offers housing to students, researchers, and employees within walking distance of work and school.

The university also announced global partnerships with FLANN Inc., a South Korean firm that the university said will bring cohorts of early-stage biotech firms to Sacramento to commercialize technologies in the U.S. UCD also announced plans with HM Venture Partners, a global venture capital firm, to advise its new Investing in the Future of Medicine Fund, and with local venture capital firm the March Group, to launch a business accelerator focused on commercializing UCD inventions.

Aggie Square’s economic potential is significant. The project is expected to contribute $1.92 billion in total economic output regionally and $2.32 billion statewide, generating more than 12,000 construction-related jobs and creating 3,200 permanent jobs once completed.

As a destination for entrepreneurs and international biotech firms, it has the potential to propel Sacramento to the forefront of the life sciences and technology sectors. Aggie Square could help establish the city as a critical innovation hub in California, with far-reaching economic impacts for local businesses and the workforce.

Despite the excitement surrounding the development, the question remains whether the project will truly benefit the surrounding Oak Park community, which has historically been underserved and has grappled with issues of affordability, job access, and displacement.

Promises Made

The grand opening of Aggie Square comes with a sense of both opportunity and skepticism for many longtime Oak Park residents. Local leaders such as Rodney Brown, a second-generation barbershop owner who owned barbershops in Oak Park for nearly 50 years before moving in 2023, have expressed concerns about the extent to which the project will deliver on its promises to the community.

Brown recalled promises that were made early, including the idea that Aggie Square would create jobs, mentorship opportunities, and education programs for Oak Park residents. But Brown, like many, remains cautious about whether such promises will be fully realized.

“There was always a promise,” Brown said, “that the neighborhood would be part of it – with jobs, mentoring programs, education, even support around mental health. These ideas have been part of the plans since the beginning.”

Brown emphasized that if the project is to succeed, it must do more than just bring in new companies and research labs; it must create tangible, accessible opportunities for the people who live nearby. “Could you imagine if someone receives a managerial job – they meet the qualifications, they get the position, and maybe they’ve been out of work for a while? Can you see what that does to the youth in their neighborhood? There’s hope, there’s a chance because someone from their own neighborhood has made it, and now they’re helping others in that same community.”

Brown’s words underscore a broader concern that Aggie Square’s success should not be measured solely by the technology it fosters or the companies it attracts, but also by the opportunity it creates for the people who have long called Oak Park home.

One of Aggie Square’s most significant development aspects is a community benefits partnership agreement signed by UC Davis, the City of Sacramento, and Wexford Science and Technology. The agreement, which includes a $50 million commitment to affordable housing, job creation, and local youth programming, aims to ensure that the benefits of Aggie Square are shared by the broader community. However, some community leaders feel that the agreement has fallen short in truly representing the voices of Oak Park residents.

Kim Williams, director of Sacramento Investment Without Displacement (SIWD), which advocated for a more formal, binding community agreement, reflected on the unveiling.

“It was really a beautiful space, and you could see the thought and effort that went into creating it,” she said. “But the real challenge now is making sure it truly feels like a community asset, not just a project tied to the hospitals or the university. It should feel like it belongs to the people who live here, and we have to find ways to ensure it’s experienced that way.”

Promises Kept?

Williams and others were disappointed when the City Council rejected a proposed community benefits ordinance in 2021 that would have formalized neighborhood participation. The existing agreement was negotiated without a direct community signatory, a fact that continues to raise concerns.

In December, the City Council rejected a proposed ordinance that would have required any major development that receives $10 million or more in city funding to enter a community benefits agreement.

Tamika L’Ecluse, executive director of the Sacramento Community Land Trust, expressed disappointment that community groups were not included in the agreement discussions from the outset. “They did put together an agreement amongst themselves, but omitting the community from that agreement is definitely a loss for the folks who aren’t represented by the city or the UC system,” L’Ecluse said. “The city’s and school’s goals were met, but I think that there’s still some work to be done to make sure the community goals are met. That should be really the most important piece.”

L’Ecluse also noted that while the agreement included some demands from community organizations, none were part of the decision-making process. That has “diluted” the community’s voice in shaping how Aggie Square develops, she said.

“And we also know that they could have gone further with doing more housing stabilization investments, such as more rental assistance, or a universal basic income program,” L’Ecluse said.