Shri Chawla Leads Buyers for San Jose Offices

Investors have snatched up another San Jose office building in an active spring for the local commercial market.

Led by Silicon Valley real estate executive Shri Chawla, a group of investors acquired an office building at 110 Baytech Drive in north San Jose for $13.5 million, Mercury News reported, citing documents filed on Monday with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office. The building is occupied by green tech company Lyten, which also has offices across the street at 145 Baytech Drive.

An affiliate of Money360 was the seller in the transaction. In 2024, Money360 foreclosed on a $16.3 million loan it provided for the office building. The foreclosure proceeding pegged the building’s value at $14.4 million, suggesting Chawla’s buying group picked up the property at 6 percent below its foreclosure value. The two-story research and office building spans roughly 58,000 square feet.

Chawla, an electrical engineer by training and a former semiconductor industry executive, made the purchase because he “really believe[s]” in Lyten, telling Mercury News it “has an amazing approach to the battery industry.” The tech firm’s batteries have been pitched as a low-cost and energy-efficient alternative for industries including electric vehicles, electric aircraft and mobile devices.

Elsewhere in north San Jose, in April, an affiliate of BGO purchased the seven-building Rio Tech Office Park for $164.3 million, which was a slight discount from the $170 million that the seller Washington Holdings paid in 2021. That same month, Paceline Investors bought the 92,900-square-foot office and research building at 2581 Junction Avenue for $12.2 million, marking a 61.9 percent haircut from its $32 million sale price in 2018. Paceline continued its San Jose office streak earlier this week with a $33 million acquisition at 350 East Plumeria Drive.

While Lyten doesn’t own its offices, tech firms in Silicon Valley both big and small have been opting to buy real estate. In south San Jose last month, Rocket EMS bought a research and office building at 5729 Fontanoso Way for $18.8 million. The 78,200-square-foot building fell into default in 2023 and sat vacant for years before undergoing a bankruptcy process and being seized by lender Evergreen Advantage. At the time of foreclosure in 2024, the building had a value of $24.5 million, translating to a 23.5 percent discount for Rocket EMS. — Chris Malone Méndez