One West Santa Clara Street, an office building at the corner of West Santa Clara and North First Street. (Newmark, Jay Paul Co.)
SAN JOSE — A major Bay Area transit agency is scouting for a large office complex for its new headquarters, most likely in downtown San Jose, according to a real estate proposal currently being circulated.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, whose headquarters are tucked away in a nondescript north San Jose office building, is seeking new digs to call home.
Colliers, a commercial real estate firm, is representing the VTA in its quest for space, according to the agency’s request for proposals that this news organization has obtained.
VTA officials are seeking 75,000 to 150,000 square feet of office space for the new headquarters site.
“The intended use for this facility is office and administrative work,” according to the proposal that Colliers is circulating. Colliers brokers Grant Zamudio, Paul McManus, Kevin Moul and Mike Lee are representing the VTA in its hunt for space, the 40-page document states.
The transit agency’s officials are eyeing 2026 as the target year to move into the new offices. The search is in its early stages and a deal has yet to be negotiated for a specific building.
The VTA’s space hunt has emerged at a time when the transit agency has encountered wide-ranging criticism and skepticism over a BART extension into downtown San Jose.
The BART project has rolled past its budget targets multiple times and is under scrutiny due to runaway costs.
The VTA says the building it is seeking must have pedestrian access to a VTA station. It also must be within 500 feet of a light rail line.
The South Bay light rail system passes through several cities, including San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Campbell.
Downtown San Jose, though, is deemed to have the upper hand for landing the future VTA main offices, according to several property experts who have direct knowledge of the transit agency’s search for space.
Three office buildings in downtown San Jose appear to be close matches for the VTA’s preferences.
Here are the buildings and some details about the properties:
— One West Santa Clara, a four-story office building totaling 100,000 square feet. Jay Paul Co. is the principal owner. Newmark, a commercial real estate firm, is seeking tenants for the building, which is at the corner of West Santa Clara Street and North First Street.
— Paseo, a mixed-use office and restaurant building at 201 South Second Street. This building consists of 75,000 square feet of offices and 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Urban Catalyst is the principal owner of the building.
— 2 West Santa Clara Street, a 10-story office tower totaling 100,000 square feet at the corner of West Santa Clara Street and South First Street. DivcoWest is the highrise’s principal owner. Newmark is seeking tenants for the building.
The transit agency also wants the option to buy the office building, even if it starts its occupancy with a lease, according to the Colliers request for proposals.
A decision on a space could come within weeks or months, according to the document.
“The tenant (VTA) would lease a building from a landlord and sign a lease in Q4 2024 or Q1 2025,” the Colliers document states. The fourth quarter would be the October-through-December period and the first quarter would be the January-through March time frame.
It also appears the VTA seeks to have the option to host public sessions within the building.
“The tenant (VTA) will require an approximately 7,000-square-foot board room which would be available on an exclusive and unlimited basis to house public board meetings,” the Colliers documents state. “This space would be located on the first or second floor of the Building and would include a dais, public seating area for up to 300 people, kitchen, conference room, green room, restrooms, and (technology) infrastructure.”
Originally published at George Avalos