Downtown Davis is about to swap its long-vacant lumber yard history for a fresh stack of apartments. Demolition of the former Hibbert Lumber hardware store at the corner of Fifth and G streets is set to start on July 13, clearing the way for a five-story mixed-use project dubbed The Lumberyard. Neighbors can expect several weeks of heavy equipment on site and a steady flow of truck traffic reshaping one of the most visible blocks in central downtown.
The Sacramento Bee reports that, according to a city news release, The Lumberyard is slated to include 239 apartments, with 11 deed-restricted affordable units reserved for households earning under 50% of area median income. Plans also call for ground-floor retail, a roof deck and covered storage for more than 300 bicycles. The building will be clad in rustic reds, corrugated metal and wood-look siding as a visual nod to the hardware store it is replacing, per the Bee’s summary of the city’s description.
Project history and approvals
The City of Davis project page lists the property as 500–512 G Street and shows that the Davis Planning Commission signed off on The Lumberyard on February 14, 2024, with project materials and renderings posted online. City documents on the same page also record a September 2025 submittal to revise the Affordable Housing Plan and unit mix, reflecting ongoing tweaks to the proposal as it moves through the municipal review process, according to the City of Davis.
Timeline, training drills and street closures
The city’s construction schedule starts with about five weeks of demolition, followed by roughly two weeks of grading. The Davis Fire Department will also get some hands-on practice out of the old building: from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 13, crews plan to use the structure for training that will include department vehicles and theatrical smoke.
During the work period, the city announcement says the sidewalk on the north side of Fifth Street between G Street and the railroad tracks will be closed. Sixth Street between G and the railroad tracks will also be closed during construction hours, which are set for 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. According to The Sacramento Bee, the schedule is designed to confine construction activity to weekday daytime hours.
Design, contractor and neighborhood impacts
City project materials include exterior plans and renderings that lean into the site’s hardware store past while adding modern touches like covered bicycle parking, ground-floor commercial space and a rooftop amenity area. Local reporting identifies Brown Construction as the builder, and residents should expect crews on site and noticeable weekday construction noise and truck activity during the 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. work window. Detailed plans and visual renderings are available on the City of Davis website for anyone wanting a closer look at what is coming.
Why this matters
The Lumberyard is one of several projects aimed at boosting housing capacity in downtown Davis, an ongoing goal that has shaped planning efforts and plenty of public debate in recent years. Local reporting noted that the Hibbert site drew a preliminary application in 2023 as part of a broader push to bring more housing into the downtown core, and its imminent demolition is a tangible sign that those long-running policy talks are turning into active construction. For additional background on how the project fits into that larger push, see coverage from the Davis Vanguard.
