Santana Row Gets in on AI Office Rush

Artificial intelligence firms are moving into San Jose’s upscale Santana Row.

Etched, based in Cupertino, and Securiti.ai, based in San Jose, leased a combined 60,400 square feet in the One Santa West building at 3155 Olsen Drive, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Terms of the separate deals with landlord Federal Realty Investment Trust, based in Maryland, developer and principal owner of the mixed-use Santa Row district, were not disclosed.

Etched, which makes specialty AI semiconductor chips, leased the 49,500-square-foot second floor.

Securiti.ai, which provides software services to allow for safer use of artificial intelligence and data, leased 10,900 square feet on the third floor.

With these deals, the 375,000-square-foot One Santana West is now 80 percent leased, according to Jan Sweetnam, chief investment officer for Federal Realty.

“Santana West is ideal for companies seeking a modern and efficient workspace and the deepest set of amenities and services available,” Sweetnam told the Mercury News.

The AI tech leases occurred after the real estate investment trust pivoted from its original strategy to lease the entire building to a single tenant.

After Federal Realty decided to make chunks of the offices available to separate tenants, One Santana West began to draw firms interested in flexible leasing options.

A crush of companies that piled into the eight-story building include PwC U.S. Group, which leased 141,000 square feet; Acrisure, for 29,000 square feet; Couchbase for 23,700 square feet; Calix, for 23,000 square feet; Pivot Interiors, for 15,000 square feet; and BetterHelp, for 10,400 square feet.

The Good Eating Company, a full-service cafe, has struck a deal to operate on the office building’s ground floor.

The building’s 20 percent vacancy compares to the 21.8 percent vacancy for Silicon Valley in the third quarter, according to a December report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley and JLL Silicon Valley, according to the San Jose Spotlight.

South Bay office availability — empty offices plus offices being listed for sublease — was 25.9 percent in the fourth quarter ending in December, according to Savills.

— Dana Bartholomew