Train station deal signals continued boom
Castro Station purchase represents high interest in Mountain View properties
MOUNTAIN VIEW >> A booming economy, strong job sector and an attractive location have fueled the purchase of a big Mountain View office complex that’s perched next to a local train station and is minutes from that city’s busy downtown.
Castro Station, an office complex that boasts a seven-minute walk to the nearby Caltrain stop in Mountain View, has been bought for $179.7 million, according to Santa Clara County property records.
“The interest in Mountain View by investors is very strong right now,” said Christine Slonek, a senior managing director with the San Jose office of Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial realty brokerage.
The office complex consists of three buildings arranged in a long strip just east of the Caltrain station. The addresses are 100, 150 and 200 W. Evelyn Ave. Together, the buildings total 115,000 square feet.
Mountain View, notably, is the home territory of Google and its owner Alphabet. Plus, Google has been leasing and buying office buildings and sites in Mountain View and nearby cities at a brisk pace in recent years.
“Assets like Castro Station are very attractive to investors especially when they are close to transportation, amenities, and areas like downtown Mountain View,” Slonek said.
Mountain View’s downtown is a bustling commercial district with an eclectic mix of restaurants and shops, as well as some office buildings, and is the site of a popular arts and wine festival every September.
The buyer and seller in the recent purchase of Castro Station are both institutional investors. The new owner is an affiliate of Northwestern Mu-
tual Life Insurance and the seller was affiliated with Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association, county documents reveal.
The purchase of Castro Station on Aug. 15 represents a 21 percent in the value of the property in just three years. In 2015, the complex was bought by the Teachers Association for $148.5 million, county documents show. That means the site’s value increased at more than twice the general inflation rate in the Bay Area over the same period.
“Public transportation and the intense desire to be near amenities is driving the interest buy tenants to be in these kinds of properties, and those factors also are attracting investors,” Slonek said.