San Jose’s City Council has approved a trio of agreements with Samsung Semiconductor Inc. to build a 680,000-square-foot research and development campus and new North American headquarters in North San Jose.

The project is expected to involve a capital investment of no less than $200 million, assuming an estimated per square foot construction cost of about $300 and excluding the value of business equipment required to outfit the facility.

The campus, which is proposed to include two, 10-story towers, is expected to house 2,000 workers. Samsung has an existing 300,000-square-foot complex at the site, 3655 N. First St., where 370 people already work.

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It’s one of those winter days in the Bay Area where winds and a downpour are going to make that sprint from the parking lot to your office building a wet mess. If only the adjacent parking garage had any spaces. Lucky for you, you’re on speaking terms with the building. Yes, the building. It tells you that there are two spaces unfilled and one of them is near the fourth-level elevator. That “conversation” is not science fiction. And that isn’t all that a “smart” building might tell its tenants and owners.

“There are a couple of trends we see in the industry,” said David Marks (pictured), chief executive officer of Teecom, an Oakland-based technology systems research, strategy, design and engineering firm that has worked on real estate projects from hospitals to corporate headquarters.

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Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the leading global owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate, recently published an in-depth analysis of the United States industrial real estate market in a paper titled “The Shape of the U.S. Industrial Recovery.”

In the report, the company’s research team points to a strengthening of the industrial market with the recovery transitioning into expansion. They believe this is driven by three key factors:

– Effective rents expected to rise 25% over next four years;

– Pent up demand: Exhibited by strong net absorption in the fourth quarter and high readings from Prologis’ proprietary Industrial Business Index survey of customer activity levels; and

– Broadening leasing velocity: Market tightness is supporting rent growth in more asset types, in more markets and in more locations in those markets

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Office vacancy rates declined or held steady in most major U.S. markets during Q1 2013, according to preliminary data from CBRE Group, Inc. Six of the 12 largest markets showed declines in office vacancy, led by Denver and San Francisco, while two markets remained stable. Industrial availability continued to decrease moderately in major U.S. markets as well.

Read the full story here: The Registry

Ivanhoé Cambridge Acquires 73 Office Buildings in Silicon Valley with Partners TPG and DivcoWest

Montreal, Quebec, March 20, 2013 – Ivanhoé Cambridge continues to develop its U.S. office portfolio and announces an investment in California’s Silicon Valley region through the acquisition of 73 office buildings in partnership with affiliates of TPG and DivcoWest, who jointly led the transaction which closed in late December 2012.

This opportunistic investment provides the partners with immediate access to 6.4 million square feet of leasable space with a very attractive potential long-term return.

Read the full story at The Registry here.