One year ago, CBRE released a report concluding that “San Jose offers the most favorable market for office construction in the U.S.”
What a year it’s been since that report was issued. In San Jose, AGC Equity Partners paid $780 million for three buildings in north San Jose. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Apple have taken large land holdings, and Google got the city’s OK to move forward with a mega-campus on the western edge of downtown San Jose.
“San Jose represents the urban heart of Silicon Valley. It combines one of the nation’s deepest talent pools with a spacious environment, desirable climate and a community of cultural and retail offerings. Companies appreciate that a San Jose location is accessible to a wide swath of top-tier talent, and affords room for growth.” - Mark Schmidt, senior managing director of CBRE’s Silicon Valley office.
Mark is preaching to the choir. Urban Catalyst is one of several developers building new office space to help meet the demand of tech companies moving to or expanding in San Jose. That demand is impacting much of the South Bay.
In a December, Mercury News article titled, “LinkedIn buys and leases chunks of Sunnyvale space amid tech expansion,” listed notable leases and acquisitions, noting that the deals “defy gloomy prognostications of a Silicon Valley tech exodus.”
Major deals listed include:
- LinkedIn paying $122.8 million for two research and office buildings in Sunnyvale and leased a Sunnyvale office building. In July, the company bought the site it had been leasing for its Sunnyvale headquarters, paying $323 million.
- Meta Platforms leasing 719,000 square feet in a four-building campus in northern Sunnyvale. The company also leased 520,000 square feet in Burlingame.
- Apple leasing 698,000 square feet at Sunnyvale’s Pathline Park while moving forward with a new campus in north San Jose. The iPhone maker paid $450 million for five Cupertino office buildings.
- Despite the company moving its headquarters to Texas, Tesla rented a Palo Alto office building in Palo Alto. Tesla still has its vehicle factory in Fremont.
- Google got all the necessary approvals for its huge downtown campus and has additional plans in the works for north San Jose, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
- Adobe is erecting a new office tower at its headquarters in downtown San Jose.
- Intuitive Surgical is planning to build a huge two-building office and research center in Sunnyvale that totals over 1 million square feet.
Many of these deals involve existing buildings. But space in existing buildings is finite. More office space will be needed as these companies continue to grow.
I’m reminded of that classic line from “Field of Dreams”--”If you build it, they will come.” Here in the South Bay, we’re building it.
Contact us to learn more about Urban Catalyst’s projects in downtown San Jose and investment opportunities.
Important Disclosures
The contents of this communication: (i) do not constitute an offer of securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, (ii) offers can be made only by the confidential Private Placement Memorandum (the “PPM”) which is available upon request, (iii) do not and cannot replace the PPM and is qualified in its entirety by the PPM, and (iv) may not be relied upon in making an investment decision related to any investment offering by an issuer, or any affiliate, or partner thereof ("Issuer").
All potential investors must read the PPM and no person may invest without acknowledging receipt and complete review of the PPM.
With respect to any performance levels outlined herein, these do not constitute a promise of performance, nor is there any assurance that the investment objectives of any program will be attained. All investments carry the risk of loss of some or all of the principal invested. Assumptions are more fully outlined in the Offering Documents/ PPM for the respective offering. Consult the PPM for investment conditions, risk factors, minimum requirements, fees and expenses and other pertinent information with respect to any investment.
These investment opportunities have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and are being offered pursuant to an exemption therefrom and from applicable state securities laws. All offerings are intended only for accredited investors unless otherwise specified.
Past performance are no guarantee of future results. All information is subject to change. You should always consult a tax professional prior to investing. Investment offerings and investment decisions may only be made on the basis of a confidential private placement memorandum issued by Issuer, or one of its partner/issuers. Issuer does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. Thank you for your cooperation.
Real Estate Risk Disclosure:
- There is no guarantee that any strategy will be successful or achieve investment objectives including, among other things, profits, distributions, tax benefits, exit strategy, etc.;
- Potential for property value loss – All real estate investments have the potential to lose value during the life of the investments;
- Change of tax status – The income stream and depreciation schedule for any investment property may affect the property owner’s income bracket and/or tax status. An unfavorable tax ruling may cancel deferral of capital gains and result in immediate tax liabilities;
- Potential for foreclosure – All financed real estate investments have potential for foreclosure;
- Illiquidity – These assets are commonly offered through private placement offerings and are illiquid securities. There is no secondary market for these investments.
- Reduction or Elimination of Monthly Cash Flow Distributions – Like any investment in real estate, if a property unexpectedly loses tenants or sustains substantial damage, there is potential for suspension of cash flow distributions;
- Impact of fees/expenses – Costs associated with the transaction may impact investors’ returns and may outweigh the tax benefits
- Stated tax benefits – Any stated tax benefits are not guaranteed and are subject to changes in the tax code. Speak to your tax professional prior to investing.
Opportunity Zone Disclosures
- Investing in opportunity zones is speculative. Opportunity zones are newly formed entities with no operating history. There is no assurance of investment return, property appreciation, or profits. The ability to resell the fund’s underlying investment properties or businesses is not guaranteed. Investing in opportunity zone funds may involve a higher level of risk than investing in other established real estate offerings.
- Long-term investment. Opportunity zone funds have illiquid underlying investments that may not be easy to sell and the return of capital and realization of gains, if any, from an investment will generally occur only upon the partial or complete disposition or refinancing of such investments.
- Limited secondary market for redemption. Although secondary markets may provide a liquidity option in limited circumstances, the amount you will receive typically is discounted to current valuations.
- Difficult valuation assessment. The portfolio holdings in opportunity zone funds may be difficult to value because financial markets or exchanges do not usually quote or trade the holdings. As such, market prices for most of a fund’s holdings will not be readily available.
- Capital call default consequences. Meeting capital calls to provide managers with the pledged capital is a contractual obligation of each investor. Failure to meet this requirement in a timely manner could elicit significant adverse consequences, including, without limitation, the forfeiture of your interest in the fund.
- Opportunity zone funds may use leverage in connection with certain investments or participate in investments with highly leveraged capital structures. Leverage involves a high degree of financial risk and may increase the exposure of such investments to factors such as rising interest rates, downturns in the economy or deterioration in the condition of the assets underlying such investments.
- Unregistered investment. As with other unregistered investments, the regulatory protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940 are not available with unregistered securities.
- It is possible, due to tax, regulatory, or investment decisions, that a fund, or its investors, are unable realize any tax benefits. You should evaluate the merits of the underlying investment and not solely invest in an opportunity zone fund for any potential tax advantage.
The above material cannot be altered, revised, and/or modified without the express written consent of Urban Catalyst.
