Harvest Properties, a full service commercial real estate investment and development firm based in Emeryville, today announced it has purchased 60 South Market Street in San Jose, California.

Harvest Properties acquired the property from Ares Management with partner LaSalle Investment Management for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is the debut acquisition for Harvest and LaSalle as partners as well as the first investment for both in downtown San Jose.
Investment brokers involved in the transaction include Jeffrey Weber, Greg Coith, and Edmund Najera of Eastdil Secured. 60 South Market is a 232,536 square foot, 14-story Class “A” office tower centrally located in Silicon Valley’s downtown San Jose. Prominently positioned on the east side of Market Street, the property represents one of the finest downtown office towers with recently renovated common areas and on-site amenities that include a fitness center, conference room and outdoor balconies. With easy access to Highway 87 and Interstate 280, the p roperty provides direct access to key commute corridors and is within walking distance to Caltrain, the VTA light rail, and a myriad of amenities including San Pedro Market.

Read the full story at The Registry here.

In an era of rapid technological progress, is there a reason that an office complex or classroom building—both housing lots of smart people—can’t elevate its own IQ?

In a smart building, software allows communications among traditionally separate systems running everything from lighting, heating and ventilation to security and telecommunications. The systems’ convergence creates a single intelligent network that allows a building to react dynamically to real-time conditions using input from every source attainable. Moreover, smart buildings are the backbone of smart work environments, something that tenants increasingly want.

“They are engineering smart buildings with automation, which facilitates the creation of smart work environments.” Bob Brown, chief executive and co-founder, Fremont-based Teladata LLC
Energy is typically the largest expense for any U.S. building owner or user, accounting for 30 percent of operating costs in an average commercial building, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Overall, commercial and industrial buildings use $200 billion a year nationwide on power, producing nearly half of the nation’s greenhouse-gas emissions. Smart buildings are being credited with reducing energy use from 20 percent to 30 percent as compared to conventionally built and operated structures.

Read the rest of the story at The Registry – here.

 

When Rockwood Capital and Four Corners Properties bought the Water Tower Plaza office and retail building in downtown Campbell, the “walkability” of the neighborhood was cited in the decision to buy. According to Seattle-based Web site and research company Walk Score, downtown Campbell is a “walker’s paradise.” Its 94-point score on a 100-point scale makes it one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Silicon Valley.

We in the Bay Area hear a lot about the virtue of urban living, including benefits for the air, natural environment and public health. The region’s preoccupation has been evident for years. First communities created “greenlines” beyond which development was no longer allowed (San Jose’s was established in 1996), then turned to high-density, infill development—preferably close to transit—to house more people and to get them out of their cars.
If walkability is taken as a proxy for urban, Walk Score provides another metric by which to measure our progress toward a “better” (or at least more compact) place to live. San Francisco ranks as the second most-walkable city in the country with an overall walk score of 84.9. (No. 1 New York’s score is 85.3.) Berkeley has a community-wide score of 82; Emeryville an 80. They are the only cities in the Bay Area with overall walkability scores above 70.

Read the rest of the story at The Registery – here.

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 11, 2013 – HFF announced today the sale of Pacific Commons Shopping Center, an 865,783-square-foot regional power center in Fremont, California.

Noted as one of the largest power centers in Northern California, HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an affiliate of Catellus Development Corporation, a TPG Real Estate investment. Heitman purchased the asset which was subject to an existing loan.

Pacific Commons Shopping Center is located at the southwest corner of Interstate 880 and Auto Mall Parkway. Completed in phases between 2004 and 2006, the center is part of a larger approximately 1.2 million-square-foot retail development situated within an 840-acre mixed-use master planned community that also includes 1.1 million square feet of office/R&D and light industrial space, an 11-dealership auto mall, 440-acre wetland preserve and a 153-acre land parcel with entitlements for 3.4 million square feet of additional office, R&D and retail. Situated on 79.2 acres, Pacific Commons Shopping Center is approximately 97 percent leased and is anchored by tenants such as Lowe’s, Costco, Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Staples, Kohl’s, DSW, Target (NAP) and Cinemark Century Theaters (NAP).

Read the rest of the story on The Register – here.

By Robert Carlsen of The Registry

The term “Golden Triangle” harks back to a mysterious and perilous Southeast Asian geography that defies time. It’s also a place that defies law being one of two primary locations in Asia where illicit drugs are produced.

There is a slice of Silicon Valley flanked by Highways 101, 237 and 880, and incorporating parts of Santa Clara, North San Jose, Sunnyvale and Milpitas that bears the same name. The golden moniker is an appropriate descriptor given the level of commercial, residential, retail, entertainment and hospitality real estate projects under way in this small region.

Major tech players such as Google, Cisco, Samsung and others are spreading out in rapid succession here. And they are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

According to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, the city put together a task force 20 years ago to study economic development opportunities in the fledgling Triangle, which was showing great promise in attracting burgeoning technology companies.

Read the rest of the article on The Registry here.