Sobrato buys prime piece of downtown Mountain View

No development plans have been filed for site that includes Wells Fargo branch

MOUNTAIN VIEW >> The Sobrato Organization has bought a prime parcel in downtown Mountain View, a one-acre site that could be a key spot for new development.

The legendary development firm purchased a property that consists of a Wells Fargo branch and a big parking lot in downtown Mountain View at the corner of Castro Street and Church Street, Santa Clara County public documents show.

“This is a very nice site,” said Dave Sandlin, an executive vice president with Colliers International, a commercial real estate firm. “The property could definitely be developed.”

The bank branch property and the adjacent parking lot are located at 590 Castro St., in the heart of downtown Mountain View.

Wells Fargo Bank National Association was the seller of the property.

Acting through an affiliate, SI 69, Sobrato Organization paid $28 million for the property, according to documents filed with county officials on Sept. 25.

Sobrato Organization declined to comment about the transaction.

The property that Sobrato has bought is right across the street from the company’s headquarters at 599 Castro St.

“That was an underutilized property that Sobrato developed and was very successful with it, and it became their headquarters,” Sandlin said.

Similarly, the Wells Fargo site could be a location for a modern new commercial project.

“This would be a great parcel for a mixed-use development,” Sandlin said. “You could have offices and ground-floor retail.”

No specific development plans are on file for the site.

Sobrato is one of the most prominent development companies in the United States. And the company’s development clients read like a who’s who of Silicon Valley.

Over the decades, Sobrato built major office centers for Nvidia, Apple, Google, Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, Citrix, and Sony Entertainment. Sobrato also built the headquarters complex for ServiceNow in Santa Clara.

Mountain View is one of Silicon Valley’s hottest markets. North of U.S. 101, Alphabet-owned Google has established its world headquarters at the Googleplex. In another part of Mountain View, LinkedIn has established its headquarters.

Downtown Mountain View, with a bustling commercial scene of restaurants, shops, and offices, is also a popular destination for tech workers, bar patrons, and casual visitors.

Being an infill site in the midst of a busy downtown, it’s possible that any development proposal would receive plenty of scrutiny. But the Sobrato firm isn’t one to gallop headlong into a project.

“Sobrato is very patient,” Sandlin said. “This doesn’t have to happen right away.”