Office, research building is part of billion-dollar real estate deal

A big San Jose office and research building that's leased to a high-profile tech company has been bought as part of a billion-dollar real estate deal, property records show.

An affiliate of Galaxy REIT bought the building from an affiliate of Griffin Realty Trust, according to documents that were filed Dec. 30 with the Santa Clara County Recorder's Office.

Galaxy REIT'S affiliate paid $37.9 million for the building, which is located at 350 E. Plumeria Road in San Jose, the county documents show.

The purchase was part of a $1.132 billion deal whereby Galaxy REIT agreed to buy 53 buildings and one land parcel from Griffin Realty, documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission show.

The $37.9 million purchase price suggests that the value of the building has dropped since it was previously bought.

In 2016 Griffin Capital, the parent of the affiliate involved in the deal, paid $44 million when it bought the East Plumeria building from KBS Real Estate Investment Trust.

The building, located near the corner of East Plumeria Drive and Junction Avenue, totals 142,700 square feet, according to Griffin Capital. The one-story building was constructed in 1984.

Griffin Realty executives spoke highly of the building and the Silicon Valley market at the time of the purchase of the property in 2016.

“Given Silicon Valley's track record of innovation and economic vibrancy, we are very bullish on the area's long-term prospects,” Louis Sohn, Griffin Capital's director of acquisitions, said at the time of the prior purchase.