Local investor grabs choice San Jose sites near malls
SAN JOSE >> A local investor has grabbed choice sites next to the Santana Row and Westfield Valley Fair retail hubs, a sign of ongoing interest in a San Jose real estate hot spot.
The Bay Area group bought five parcels, including an office building, near the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and South Redwood Avenue, according to documents filed on Nov. 10 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
Kuma Ventures paid $14.5 million for the properties, the county records show.
The office building is at 2960 Stevens Creek Blvd. and was the location of a Manpower building for a long time. The other parcels have addresses ranging from 333 through 357 S. Redwood Ave., according to property documents.
The seller was University Avenue Partners, a real estate firm led by local developer Don Tepman.
“We decided to sell it because we knew the properties would be a mixed-use development at some point and we’re not residential builders,” Tepman said.
Los Altos-based Kuma Ventures, the buyer, is a group that’s led by William Siu and Rachel Ng, state business records show.
Marcus & Millichap brokers Yuri Sergunin and J.J. Taughinbaugh arranged the property transaction, which was an all-cash deal that closed in about seven days.
“For now, the owner will hold the properties as an investment,” said Sergunin, a Marcus & Millichap first vice president.
The property was listed for $14.2 million and the buyers were willing to pay more than the list price, according to Sergunin.
The selling of the property at above the list price points to sky-high interest in these properties next to and near the two iconic San Jose shopping malls on Stevens Creek, Sergunin opined.
The Marcus & Millichap brokers also sold other properties nearby at hefty prices, including sites on South Winchester Boulevard and on Stevens Creek.
In June 2021, a newly revamped building at 2910 Stevens Creek Blvd. was at a price that reflects what one expert says is the “very high premium” nature of this area.
Local real estate investors Brandenburg Properties and SDS NexGen Partners, acting through affiliates, have teamed up to buy a retail and office building at 2910 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Brandenburg and SDS NexGen paid slightly under $17.6 million for the two-story building.
The price for the building works out to just a shade over $1,300 a square foot, according to Sergunin and Taughinbaugh.
While not a record, that price is far higher than typical for San Jose and well above what the seller paid for both this building and one that it owns nearby. About two or three years ago, $1,000 a square foot was deemed to be a very high price for this type of building in Silicon Valley.
“This is a price for a very high premium area, and that’s what this part of Silicon Valley is,” Sergunin said.
Developers are willing to pay $320 to $400 a square foot just for the land alone in this vicinity, experts say.
“We are seeing a flight to quality with these transactions,” Sergunin said. “Locations like this get very high prices. People understand the value of the real estate at these locations. And they are willing to overpay for properties.”