S.J. developers look west for expansion
First phase of new Santana Row project would be 700K sq. ft.
SAN JOSE >> Santana Row’s owners are actively studying a construction launch for the first phase of a vast new office campus that would sprout across the street from the iconic mixed-use San Jose complex, company executives said Thursday.
The first phases of the new Santana West office campus would total 700,000 square feet and feature two office buildings, each totaling 350,000 square feet. The buildings would rise near the prominent Century 21 dome movie theater that’s now shuttered but will remain part of the future development.
“You will see a go or no-go decision soon because the market is so strong” in Silicon Valley, Donald Wood, chief executive officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust, said during a conference call to discuss the company’s 2018 fourth quarter financial results.
A Federal Realty internal committee is expected to meet sometime during the first half of
2019 to make multiple decisions about the company’s ventures, including whether to begin construction on Santana West, which is on Olsen Drive along the west side of South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose.
“We’re looking at a construction start later this year, if we can get confidence in the numbers,” Wood said during the call.
Interest in the project appears to be at a fevered pitch. Federal Realty has already received an offer from an unidentified company to be a tenant for the entire first office building of 350,000 square feet.
The developer turned down the prospective tenant. Although the potential occupant offered a choice level of rent, Federal Realty says it’s seeking tenants with an even higher level of creditworthiness and a more compelling business model.
“We had a tenant we could have signed for the entire 350,000 square feet,” Wood said of the prospective leasing deal. “We decided not to do it.”
Federal Realty told the analysts on the conference call that it would thoroughly scrutinize all tenant prospects for the Santana West expansion.
“We look really closely at credit,” Wood said. “We look very closely at the prospective impact a tenant might have on the rest of Santana Row. We have no problem saying no to a tenant.”
Santana Row is deemed to be a destination center with a vibrant mix of shops, restaurants, entertainment, residences, a hotel and multiple office buildings.
The center scored a big-time tenant win during 2018, when it signed a large lease with San Francisco-based Splunk, an upand-coming tech company whose software seeks out, collects and analyzes an array of data.
Last August, Splunk leased 301,000 square feet at an under-construction San Jose office building, 700 Santana Row. That is a short walk from its current San Jose location at 500 Santana Row, a 235,000-square-foot building.
“Delivery of the office building to Splunk is set for late 2019,” Dan Guglielmone, Federal Realty’s chief financial officer, said during the call.