SAN JOSE — Google ally Trammell Crow has widened the footprint for a future transit village in downtown San Jose with a purchase of a large industrial site across from the Diridon train station.
The latest acquisition, for $5.5 million, occurred on June 30 and added 140 S. Montgomery St. to the properties that Google and Trammell Crow have collected for a future Google village. The buyer was TC Agoge Associates, an affiliate of Trammell Crow, which is Google’s development partner in the creation of a transit-oriented tech campus near Diridon Station and the SAP Center.
The deal caps the busiest month yet for Trammell Crow’s property-buying quest in downtown San Jose. TC Agoge bought four parcels, the most in a single month. What’s more, the push to buy private properties in the area seems far from over: Several property owners in the vicinity say they have struck deals to sell their parcels to Trammell Crow or Google.
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These transactions suggest that Google and Trammell Crow maintain an intense interest in an effort to transform downtown San Jose and greatly increase the size of what is traditionally deemed to be the city’s urban core.
“There is some real deal flow and momentum now with these acquisitions,” said Bob Staedler, a principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use, development and planning consultant.
What’s more, Google’s interest in downtown San Jose is giving the Bay Area’s largest city the propulsion to dramatically reshape itself as an urban center, he added.
“Google is being very forward looking,” Staedler said. “Google wants to be that transit-oriented development that will help San Jose evolve.”
Since late December 2016, Google-linked investors have spent about $140.5 million purchasing an assortment of properties on the western frontiers of downtown San Jose.
“The latest transaction is an affirmation of the plans for the Diridon Station area,” said Nanci Klein, the city’s deputy manager for economic development.
The June deals on behalf of the search giant accumulated six parcels associated with seven different addresses, some about a mile from each other.
Mountain View-based Google could potentially occupy 6 million to 8 million square feet of office and research space near Diridon Station, according to a recent memo issued by San Jose city staffers.
On June 20, the City Council voted 10-1 to launch the bold plan to remake the west side of downtown San Jose into a massive Google village. In the first public test, the council agreed to negotiate exclusively with Google to sell 16 city-owned parcels to the search giant.
“This will be an excellent opportunity to have jobs, retail and other uses directly related to transit that will benefit the entire city.” Klein said.
