Properties

by Silver Creek Valley Road, Hellyer Avenue and Fontanoso Way as well as empty land a short distance away on Embedded Way.

The county intends to buy the buildings for $51 million, or $116 a square foot, and the 7.9 acres of land for $7million, or $20 a square foot.

The county’s purchases will remove multiple privately owned parcels from the property tax rolls.

“That is going to reduce property tax revenue for both the city of San Jose and the county because the county is the newowner,” Staedler said.

The combined assessed value of the buildings and the land in the two transactions is $140.6 million, Santa Clara County property records show.

“We are trying to get out of leased spaces when we can and own more property when we can,” Draper said. “Part of these actions are for the long haul. This is not a land baron issue. This is a long view issue.”

Plus, the huge appetite to buy or lease space, or both, by tech titans such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon in Silicon Valley has alarmed county officials, who wonder how readily they would find space were the government to defer purchases to future years.

“This year marks Silicon Valley’s ninth year of economic expansion, the longest on record,” a county memo stated.

“The significant market demand for commercial real estate has created unfavorable market conditions for prospective owner/user buyers.”

On the other hand, the purchases are being undertaken at a time when commercial property prices have soared.

“This is not a market for bargain hunters,” Staedler said.