Much of the news recently has been about Google’s ambitious growth in downtown San Jose. But few are talking about Apple’s 86 acres in North San Jose, which the company purchased in July of 2015, and for which the City of San Jose has granted Apple development right for up to 4.1 million square feet of office space over the next 15 years. That will have the chance to accommodate up to 20,000 people, according to some estimates by the company. Last week, according to a report by the San Jose Mercury News, the iPhone maker just expanded its ambitions by acquiring two more parcels across the street from the 86-acre site. Both sites were sold by San Mateo-based Steelwave, and while the purchase price was not provided, the market value of both sites, according to public documents, comes to $79 million.
The sale was an option on a lease of a 200,000-square-foot building that Apple took about a year ago, according to Phil Mahoney, vice chairman of Newmark Cornish & Carey in Santa Clara. He worked on the deal with John Yandle, executive vice president, and Mike Saign, senior managing director. Mahoney declined to comment on the pricing.
One of the parcels is on Orchard Parkway and Atmel Way. This parcel is valued at $17.7 million. Right next to it is the second parcel, which is nearly landlocked, bounded by another parcel that Apple owns and the Guadalupe River Trail. The parcels together measure about 16.35 acres. Apple also owns three other parcels along Orchard Parkway adjacent to these two, which were purchased in September of 2015 for $165 million, as well as the two larger parcels across the street from Orchard Parkway on both sides of Component Drive, which were purchased for $140 million in July of 2017.
PayPal’s campus is right next door to all these sites to the south, and to the north is a development proposal at 350 W. Trimble Road and 370 W. Trimble Road for a 250-room hotel in addition to 100,000 square feet of commercial uses on the 14 acres that are now under consideration for rezoning and development. LBA Realty bought the Trimble Road properties in March of 2017 for $130 million, according to public documents.
This part of San Jose, surrounding the airport, will be a transformative location for the city that will look to bring thousands of jobs to the city and economic activity to the Silicon Valley city and region.
“If Apple moves forward with this campus development, my joy will be exceeded only by that of the thousands of Apple employees already living in San Jose who desperately want a shorter commute,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in the report by the Mercury News Friday.
Map courtesy of San Jose Mercury News
