PTEC Solutions can bank on a lower minimum wage to help its headquarters relocation from Fremont to Morgan Hill pencil out after buying a 76,000-square-foot office complex for $18.7 million.
The Fremont-based electronics manufacturing firm bought the two buildings on 9 acres at 18095 Serene Drive, more than 20 miles south of San Jose, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported. The seller was Sakata Seed, based in Japan.
The deal works out to $246 per square foot.
The site also includes 3.8 acres of expansion land, according to Colliers, which held the listing. The property was on the market for nearly a year before the deal closed.
PTEC plans to relocate to Morgan Hill early next year, leaving its 36,000 square-square-foot hub at 48633 Warm Springs Boulevard in Fremont.
The company has leased offices until now, but PTEC founder Peter Pham said it was time for a change. No longer needing to deal with rent increases was appealing, while the company had outgrown its headquarters, he told the Business Journal.
The electronics firm hopes to add workers at its Morgan Hill property, Pham said.
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Part of what motivated Pham’s decision to move the firm to Morgan Hill was its lower minimum wage compared to Fremont, he said.
Minimum wage in Morgan Hill is $16 per hour, California’s statewide standard. In July, Fremont hiked its minimum wage to $17.30, from $16.80.
— Dana Bartholomew