Santa Clara and Irvine, Calif. – March 20, 2014 – Bixby Land Company announces that is has closed on its largest Silicon Valley acquisition to date with the purchase of Lake Park Business Center in Santa Clara, Calif. The seven-building, 405,330-square-foot office project was purchased from Divco West at an undisclosed price. Bixby plans to invest $20 million to reposition the project into a contemporary workplace, following several successful Silicon Valley office campus projects by Bixby that have been well received by tenants in the past two years.
The project is situated on a 19.3-acre parcel bordered by Patrick Henry Drive, Bunker Hill Lane, Old Ironsides Drive and Tasman Drive, is adjacent to MTA light rail service, and is two miles south of the Southbay Freeway (CA-237) at Great American Parkway. Lake Park Business Center was 65 percent leased upon closing, with Silicon Valley Bank occupying three buildings.
“This project is at the center of the booming business activity surrounding Levi’s Stadium,” said Bill Halford, president and CEO of Bixby Land Company. Lake Park Business Center is just west of the new home for the San Francisco 49ers, and the “stadium effect” as it is known locally has led to heightened interest in this submarket.
Bixby plans significant exterior and interior renovations, including dramatic entry points for each building and a design that promotes an indoor/outdoor work environment throughout the project. Bixby will commence its redevelopment later this year and is expected to complete the transformation of the project by year end.
“We’ve learned through our previous developments that companies place a premium on work environments where their employees can enjoy the outdoors without having to leave the property,” added Halford. “Our designs offer that experience, whether through outside areas where people can congregate, or interior work areas that incorporate access to the outdoors.”
Bixby’s attention to the lifestyle needs of today’s companies has come to define the firm’s office development strategy. This includes stylish amenities that more closely resemble the ambiance of a boutique luxury hotel than an office building. “The California climate lends itself to a year-round outdoor lifestyle, and we want to give companies the opportunity for their employees to work where they are inspired and more productive,” said Halford.
The pending redevelopment of Lake Park Business Center represents the fourth major office park repositioning by Bixby in the Silicon Valley in the past two years. Bixby recently announced the completion of THE Campus, a 250,000-square-foot repositioning development in San Jose, Calif. In May 2012, Bixby delivered a highly acclaimed office campus renovation in Santa Clara that garnered the Best Rehab/Reuse Award by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Bixby also repositioned a 165,000-square-foot office campus on River Oaks Parkway in San Jose, Calif.
“Bixby is a proven developer of quality office projects with a style that appeals to companies that want to attract and retain top talent,” said Rob Shannon, senior vice president at CBRE. “Their recent successes in landing the corporate headquarters for Infoblox and Nimble Storage attest that they have identified what tenants want,” added Shannon.
In Southern California, Bixby is putting the finishing touches on a creative office project in Los Angeles, and the firm has just purchased two office buildings in Irvine and Newport Beach, Calif. that will be developed into contemporary multi-tenant projects later this year.
“Office designs have evolved in highly creative ways as technology and work trends reshape how business is conducted,” added Halford. “This is the most fun we’ve had in the development business in a long time.”
