Apple buys campus it leased for years

Apple has bought — for a mystery price — a big Cupertino office campus that the tech legend had leased for more than a decade in a deal that solidifies the iphone maker's Silicon Valley foothold.

The tech titan bought the Apple Results Way Campus, an office and research complex that Apple leased in 2011 in a rental deal that at that time marked the company's first foray west of State Route 85.

The purchase of the campus further cements Apple's presence in Silicon Valley. The buy was completed at a time when a narrative has emerged, suggesting that tech companies are fleeing California in significant numbers and are scaling back their office holdings.

The campus that Apple now owns, according to documents filed on Dec. 23 with county officials, is located near the corner of Results Way and Bubb Road and is a short distance from the interchange of State Route 85 and Stevens Creek Boulevard, just west of De Anza College. It's also a few miles from Apple's massive spaceship office complex.

The seller was a corporate entity that is wholly owned by Apple. That entity, public documents show, is a designated successor of the actual prior owner, a Swift Real Estate Partners affiliate entity whose sole business purpose was to own the properties that Apple has just bought.

This byzantine process enabled Swift Realty Partners, the seller, to avoid paying a special levy called a transfer tax that is imposed by Santa Clara County officials when a property is purchased in instances when the buyer and the seller are two distinct entities or individuals.

Payment of a county transfer tax is not required in select cases, such as when the buyer and seller are essentially made up of the same people, companies, limited liability organizations, partnerships, or other business entities.

The value of the 10-building Apple Results Way campus has hopped higher lately for an array of reasons.

In 2020, the Swift Realty Partners affiliate paid $346 million for the tech campus. In mid-2022, the assessed value of the tech campus was $352.8 million. That's an increase of just under 2%.

The campus, which totals 383,700 square feet, is located in a Silicon Valley suburb that's characterized by Apple's huge decadeslong presence.

“The Class A office and R&D complex sits on nearly 20 acres in Cupertino, which has one of the lowest vacancy rates in Silicon Valley,” Swift Realty Partners states on a webpage for the Apple Results Way Campus.

Perhaps the most crucial foundation for the property's value: The complex is almost completely occupied by Apple, one of the world's most valuable companies.

“Swift acquired the portfolio 100% leased by Apple Inc. on a long-term basis in October 2020,” Swift states on its website. “The complex features on-site amenities including a full cafeteria and exercise facility including an outdoor basketball court.”