New Adobe tower expected to start construction
Plans expanded to accommodate 4,000 workers
SAN JOSE >> Adobe intends to begin construction of a fourth office tower in downtown San Jose by the end of June, a gleaming new building where thousands of the tech titan’s employees could work, according to the company.
The provider of cloud-based software and services already owns a three-tower headquarters campus in downtown San Jose near Park Avenue and South Almaden Boulevard, and is preparing to begin construction of a fourth high-rise on an adjacent lot.
The groundbreaking for the tower, which Adobe calls the North Tower, is targeted for late June, a representative for Adobe said, in providing background last week regarding the construction start.
“It’s exciting to see the evolution of downtown start with the groundbreaking for Adobe’s tower,” Bob Staedler, principal executive with San Jose-based Silicon Valley Synergy, a land use and planning consultancy, said Monday.
The size of the new Adobe tower is expected to be larger than originally planned, so that the tech titan can employ many more workers than initially anticipated, Adobe said early this year.
“The tower accommodates the capacity for 4,000 employees, increased from the originally planned 3,000 employees,” Adobe said in prior comments.
Adobe previously stated the new tower should be ready for workers to occupy by sometime in 2022.
The most recent company estimates have placed Adobe’s downtown employment presence at roughly 2,500 employees. That means the new tower could potentially lead to a doubling of the number of Adobe workers in downtown San Jose.
Adobe has said that the fourth tower would be roughly 650,000 square feet. A pedestrian bridge over West San Fernando Street will connect the new high rise with the existing headquarters complex.
“The building remains 18 stories tall and the size has increased to approximately 700,000 square feet to allow for more flexibility as Adobe continues to grow,” Adobe said in its comments in January.
The potential start of construction by late June would mark the beginning of a much-anticipated project. That’s because the last large office building constructed in downtown San Jose was Riverpark 2, which sprouted on West San Carlos Street in 2010.
Adobe gained control of the new tower site in January 2018, when the company paid $68 million for a property with addresses at 333 and 335 W. San Fernando St, according to Santa Clara County records. The sellers were family trusts led by veteran Bay Area developers John DiNapoli, Phil DiNapoli and Lewis Wolff.
The new tower would rise on West San Fernando Street next to State Route 87 and a short distance from the Diridon train station.
Adobe’s new tower is expected to provide ground floor retail, according to San Jose city planners.
“The idea would be to activate the street with retail or restaurant spaces on San Fernando Street,” John Tu, a San Jose city planner, said in a prior interview.
The retail could total about 8,100 square feet, according to information that Adobe sent to the city.
The new tower also is a reminder of Adobe’s long-term commitment to downtown San Jose. Adobe was the first major tech company to establish its headquarters downtown.
“Adobe was a believer and early adopter way back when and it’s great to see them lead the next wave of downtown development,” Staedler said.
“Adobe was a believer and early adopter way back when and it’s great to see them lead the next wave of downtown development.”
— Bob Staedler, principal executive with San Jose-based Silicon Valley Synergy, a land use and planning consultancy