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The University of California, Davis, has taken a major step toward the development of the first phase of West Village -- a combination of faculty, staff and student housing, a community college center, and a mixed-use area to be built just west of the main campus.

ºÙºÙÊÓƵ and its development partner, West Village Community Partnership LLC, last week signed a ground lease for the project, clearing the way for the design and construction phase of the project. ºÙºÙÊÓƵ will start construction this fall on the project's off-site infrastructure, including water and sewer connections to campus systems, a storm water drainage system and entry road improvements.

West Village Community Partnership, a joint venture of Urban Villages of Denver and Carmel Partners of San Francisco, is then expected to break ground in spring of 2009. Faculty/staff housing and student housing could be available as early as fall 2010.

Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef applauded the announcement. "After years of planning, we are excited to be moving on to the design and construction phase of the project with our private development partners," Vanderhoef said. "We are confident that West Village Community Partnership will be delivering an exceptional neighborhood not only for our university community, but for our region, as well."

Ron Zeff, CEO of Carmel Partners, said: "This successful milestone represents our continued collaborative approach with the university to address ºÙºÙÊÓƵ' long-term housing needs. West Village Community Partnership can now focus our full energies and resources to design and construct the West Village neighborhood that incorporates the values, and reflects the aspirations, of the university and the Davis community."

As currently planned, the 130-acre Phase 1 includes 343 single-family homes for faculty and staff, apartment housing for up to 1,980 students and a village square surrounded by ground-floor commercial space and the Los Rios Community College District's new Davis Center.

In all, the plan for West Village comprises two phases for a combined 475 new homes for faculty and staff, and housing for 3,000 students. Many of the faculty and staff homes will include small cottages, like those at the 37-unit Aggie Village project adjacent to campus. Cottages will increase the population density and provide more student-housing options.

When the final phase is completed, planners estimate that West Village will be home to about 4,350 people -- including 500 faculty and staff members and their families, plus students. The plan calls for a generous open-space network that offers integrated bike and pedestrian connections to the campus. UNITRANS will provide frequent bus service to the neighborhood.

The faculty-staff housing component is a principal reason for the project. University officials believe West Village will assist in recruiting and retaining top talent by enabling them to live locally and participate fully in the life of the campus and community.

West Village will make this possible by adding to the Davis housing supply and selling the homes at below-market prices for the Davis area. The homes will also have certain resale price limitations to maintain affordability over time.