The University of California, Davis, has approved the first two tenancy applications for its research park development planned at the Old Davis Road interchange next to Interstate 80.

The applicants, the Bay-Delta Science Consortium and the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, are public agencies involved in environmental research and frequently collaborate with UC Davis scientists. The campus approval of their applications now authorizes the agencies to enter into negotiations with CarrAmerica, the development company that will build and operate the research park on behalf of the university.

The Bay-Delta Science Consortium (BDSC) is a partnership of public agencies and non-profit organizations conducting science-based research regarding the San Francisco Bay Delta. Primary consortium members who will locate scientists in the research park include the California Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The consortium has requested approximately 112,000 square feet of laboratory and office space.

The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station is one of eight in the U.S. Forest Service. The research stations produce science-based information to support public policy to guide natural resource management. The Pacific Southwest Research Station proposes to consolidate several current field stations into approximately 12,000 square feet of laboratory and offices.

"The depth and breadth of research collaborations between these agencies and campus faculty are very impressive," said UC Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw. "I am certain that the presence of these researchers on campus will serve to strengthen these ties," she added.

Hinshaw approved the applications based on recommendations from an 11-member board charged with reviewing tenant applications for consistency with the goals of the research park. The board includes campus faculty, administrators, and local business leaders.

The development of the research park is a campus initiative aimed at encouraging research partnerships between UC Davis and public and private organizations, enhancing the university's research and education programs, and expanding the range of educational, internship, and employment opportunities in close proximity to the campus.

A master plan for development of the research park has been prepared and will be considered for approval by the UC Board of Regents in November 2003 concurrently with the campus Long Range Development Plan. Assuming approval at that time, initial research park construction may begin in early- to mid-2004.

The UC Davis research park will occupy 27 acres of land south of I-80 and west of Old Davis Road, and another 11 acres of land north of I-80 and south of the UC Davis Arboretum at the south entry to the campus. In the past the land has been used to grow research crops or has been used as pasture.

The 1994 Long Range Development Plan for UC Davis included about 80 acres for potential research parks. In addition to the primary sites adjacent to I-80, approximately 40 acres of land to the west of Highway 113 have been designated for future enterprise development.

The research park concept was approved by campus administrators and faculty in spring of 2000, and has been endorsed by faculty through the Academic Senate. In February 2002, CarrAmerica Development Inc., a subsidiary of CarrAmerica Realty Corporation (NYSE:CRE), was selected for exclusive negotiations to be the master developer.