TikTok agrees to sublease big San Jose tech building
TikTok has completed a rental deal for a big San Jose tech building, a transaction that suggests some pockets of strength still exist in a feeble Bay Area commercial real estate sector.
The fast-expanding tech company has subleased an office building at 1143 Coleman Ave., according to documents filed on March 19 with the Santa Clara County Recorder's Office.
The just-subleased office building is located in the Coleman Highline tech campus, a mixed-use development on Coleman Avenue just across the street from San Jose International Airport.
China-based ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, already occupies a big office complex in the same Coleman Highline campus a few doors away.
In 2022, Bytedance subleased 658,000 square feet of new office space that encompasses the entirety of two buildings with addresses of 1193 and 1199 Coleman Ave. ByteDance, whose logo is visible next to these two buildings, moved into the offices in early 2023.
ByteDance has not specified whether the 1193 and 1199 Coleman sites are being used for TikTok operations, solely ByteDance, or some combination of the two firms. That space was subleased from Yahoo.
In September 2023, Roku, which rents several buildings in Coleman Highline, revealed in a regulatory filing that it had decided to slash its office footprint at the tech campus and would attempt to sublease two of the buildings it occupies.
The two buildings that Roku said it decided to sublease are at 1143 Coleman Ave. and 1155 Coleman Ave., the regulatory filing states.
The 1143 Coleman building TikTok subleased from Roku totals 162,600 square feet, while the other building at 1155 Coleman totals 194,500 square feet, according to a brochure prepared by Colliers, a commercial real estate firm.
The county real estate records state that TikTok is subleasing the 1143 Coleman building from Roku, which was identified as the tenant.
A timeline for TikTok's move into the 1143 Coleman building wasn't disclosed. TikTok, however, is preparing the interiors of the offices for its occupancy.
“Certain tenant improvements will be made on this property,” the county real estate records stated.
In 2020, an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors paid $275 million for three office buildings in Coleman Highline. Blackstone's purchase included the office buildings at 1143 and 1155 Coleman, an amenities building at 1149 Coleman totaling 25,000 square feet, and a parking garage on nearby Champions Drive.
Despite the shifting occupancies, all of the office buildings in the Coleman Highline complex are producing rental income since they are all being leased.
One thing appears certain, however: TikTok is in expansion mode in the area.
The TikTok and ByteDance sublease agreements have filled up 820,600 square feet of office space at Coleman Highline. That's potentially enough space for 3,200 to 4,100 tech workers.
In 2021, London-based AGC Equity Partners, an investment firm, paid $780 million for the office buildings at 1193 and 1199 Coleman Ave.
The potential expansion of TikTok in San Jose comes at a time when efforts are underway to crack down on the social media platform. The concerns arise from its ownership by China-based ByteDance and the potential that the Chinese government is using TikTok to collect data.