Amazon plans South Bay campus
Tech giant has leased four Sunnyvale buildings for two of its subsidiaries
SUNNYVALE >> Amazon has begun to assemble a mega campus in Sunnyvale next to the eastern edges of Moffett Field for two of the online commerce giant’s cutting-edge subsidiaries, leasing enough offices to accommodate 5,000 or more workers.
The Seattle-based tech giant has leased a minimum of four Sunnyvale office buildings just east of Moffett Field, according to Santa Clara County public records, real estate listings and the new organization’s on-site research.
The deals are the latest in a string of leases Amazon has struck this year as the company scoops up space in Silicon Valley from East Palo Alto to downtown San Jose. The company has a presence in other metro areas — mostly smaller than its growing valley foothold — and has recently an-
nounced its intention to locate a second headquarters somewhere in the U.S. Bay Area communities are among the bidders for HQ No. 2.
The most recent lease was completed at 905 11th Ave. in Sunnyvale, where Amazon’s A2Z Development Center has struck a deal to rent an entire 350,000-square-foot building in the Moffett Tower 2 office park, according to county documents. The tech titan’s research and development Lab 126 is a key subsidiary of A2Z Development Center.
“Earthquakes, fires, expensive housing and crowded roads are not
enough to convince major tech companies that the Bay Area is a bad place to be,” said Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. “They still plan to expand here.”
Case in point: Right across the street from the Amazon sites is a big office complex that Google leased a few years ago. At the time, that deal marked the search giant’s first move outside its home territory in Mountain View.
The 11th Avenue building that Amazon has leased was developed by realty firm Jay Paul and is being constructed by Level 10 Construction, a general contractor. Much of the frame of the building was complete Friday, but considerable construction activity
was underway on multiple floors in the interior of the office tower.
Amazon didn’t respond to a request for a comment about its fast-growing expansion in the area. All four buildings are top-notch offices that would help Amazon cater to skilled recruits.
“That Moffett Field area is a really great location for Amazon and tech companies,” Levy said.
The other Sunnyvale buildings Amazon has leased are all located on Enterprise Way across the street from the Moffett Field boundary fences: a 357,000-square-foot tower at 1100 Enterprise, a 224,000-square-foot building at 1120 Enterprise, and offices totaling 228,000 square feet at 1160 Enterprise. All three buildings had Amazon signposts at their entryways.
Big tech companies will have the opportunity to grab several more office
buildings in the area because of an intense development effort by the Jay Paul firm, according to Phil Mahoney, a vice chairman with Newmark Cornish & Carey, a commercial realty brokerage that represents Jay Paul in multiple leasing efforts, including the Sunnyvale towers.
“Jay Paul is fully under construction on five buildings that total more than 1.8 million square feet,” Mahoney said. “The first of these that will be complete is at 905 11th Ave. and should be delivered sometime in early 2018.”
Amazon in May leased two floors for its Lab 126 unit in a downtown San Jose office tower as well as a 64,000-square-foot office building in North San Jose. The company is also planning to move into at least a portion of a big mixeduse complex in Mountain View and has subleased an office building in Santa Clara. Earlier this year, Amazon expanded its presence in East Palo Alto by leasing more space on University Avenue. Together, these ventures would provide enough space for thousands more Amazon workers besides the ones in Sunnyvale. Amazon also operates an Amazon Prime site on Commercial Street in Sunnyvale, county records show.
“The big names and the big players will continue to drive the economy in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley,” Levy said. “The future job growth in Silicon Valley will be determined by the big companies that have the cash for expansion and the ability to attract talented workers.”