Asian buyers pick up office complex for $58.5 million
SAN JOSE » Asia-based investors have bought a big office complex in north San Jose, paying nearly $60 million for the two-building campus, an indication of steady interest by overseas buyers in Silicon Valley.
Best Fang Holdings paid $58.5 million for The Campus at First office complex on Sept. 20, according to Santa Clara County property records.
The property has been empty for a few years since it was vacated by Micron Technology, a semiconductor company, and a spinoff of Micron called Aptina Imaging, commercial realty brokers said Thursday.
The buildings that Best Fang Holdings bought are located at
3060 N. First St. and 3080 N. 1st St., county property records show.
Three family trusts sold the office complex, which was built and completed in the late 1990s.
“The buyers are from Asia, and we are seeing more interest by investors from China and other parts of Asia in Silicon Valley,” said Michael Rosendin, an executive vice president with Colliers International, a commercial realty brokerage.
San Jose’s two primary markets are among the areas that interest Asiabased realty buyers.
“We’re seeing Asian buyers purchasing properties in north San Jose as well as in downtown San Jose,” Rosendin said.
In June, a South Korea-based resorts operator bought the Westin San Jose — more commonly known as the Sainte Claire hotel — in downtown San Jose, paying $64 million for the iconic property. Aju Hotels and Resorts bought the historic hotel.
A big San Jose office complex, leased by fast- expanding tech company Ca- vium, was bought in August by a Chinese company just a few months after its previous sale, property records show.
Han’s Holdings paid $ 48.5 million for a 118,000-square-foot office complex at 2300 Orchard Parkway in San Jose, according to documents filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
Brokers for Colliers, which is marketing the empty offices in north San Jose, said it wasn’t immediately certain what Best Fang Holdings intends to do with the North First Street campus.
The buildings are located next to light rail ve- hicle stops, which could make them more attractive in the coming months and years.
“Light rail hasn’t been a big selling point for properties, but that could change with BART coming into Santa Clara County,” said Shane Minnis, a Colliers vice president. “North San Jose also is becoming more attractive because of the residential development in the area.”
Best Fang Holdings is an LLC registered with the state government. State records show that Qianqian Hu is the registered agent with primary offices at 1177 Airport Blvd. in Burlingame. That address, though, is the Crowne Plaza Hotel in that Peninsula city. The buyer requested that the property tax bills as well as the deed be mailed to the hotel address. Brokers from Colliers said they have been in touch with the new owners, who the brokers said were based in Asia.
“Asian buyers are interested in this area because of the strong economy in the Bay Area,” Rosendin said. “I believe we will see more of these property deals in Santa Clara County on the part of buyers from Asia.”