UC Davis will officially open Wednesday, Sept. 9, an apartment-style residence built through a partnership with a not-for-profit management company. Located on campus at Russell Boulevard and California Avenue, Primero Grove will accommodate up to 300 students in 181 units ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments. Residents will pay from $6,415 to $7,200 an academic year, depending on the meal plan they select. The 136,286-square-foot residence was designed by Sasaki and Associates of San Francisco and developed by Catellus Residential Group of Pleasanton. Each apartment -- with its own kitchen and one or more bathrooms -- will house students of the same gender and each resident will have his or her own bedroom. All apartments have fiber-optic cable connections for high-speed Internet access. A community center includes laundry facilities and a large commons room. Three units have been specially equipped to accommodate residents with physical disabilities, and the remainder of the first-floor units are readily adaptable. Fred Costello, associate director of student housing, says the $11 million residence has been financed through a partnership with the Ecumenical Association for Housing of San Rafael. UC Davis will lease the residence from Ecumenical until September 2000, when the not-for-profit will become responsible for its management. Because the residence is on campus property, Costello says, university policies and regulations will remain in effect even after the management reverts to Ecumenical. The opening of Primero Grove enables the university to close the 250-bed Webster Hall this year, and the 500-bed Emerson Hall next year, for major renovations. Residents will move into their apartments in late September.