Essex Property Trust has purchased two office buildings in Mountain View in two separate deals for a combined $25.9 million. Both properties were approved for redevelopment into housing.
The San Mateo-based real estate investment trust bought two office buildings at 355 and 401 East Middlefield Road, in Whisman Station, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported.
Essex bought the 23,800-square-foot building at 355 East Middlefield Road for $7 million. The seller was winemaker Milia Handley, daughter of Raymond Handley, co-founder of Renault & Handley, a real estate firm based in Mountain View.
The deal works out to $294 per square foot. The building was built in 1964 and revamped in 2002, according to Property Shark.
The publicly traded firm also bought the 59,900-square-foot building at East Middlefield Road for $18.9 million. The seller was Renault & Handley.
The deal works out to $316 per square foot. The building was also built in 1964, and renovated in 1997.
It’s not clear whether either of the buildings is occupied.
Beginning four years ago, the City of Mountain View approved both buildings to be converted to mixed-use apartments. SummerHill Homes filed for a permit in 2020, and Miramar Capital filed a permit in 2022. Neither application has been updated.
Essex Property Trust, founded in 1971 by George Marcus, chairman of Calabasas-based commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap, owns 62,510 apartments in Los Angeles, Orange San Diego, San Francisco and San Mateo counties, and the East Bay and Seattle, according to the Business Journal.
Its portfolio includes more than 12,500 units in Seattle, which make up 17 percent of its net operating income, and more than 10,700 units in Santa Clara County, which make up 20 percent.
In May, the REIT picked up a 164-unit apartment complex at 1030 Castro Street and 801 West El Camino Real in Mountain View for $101 million, or $616,463 per unit, not including the ground-floor shops.
This summer, Essex bought a 100-percent stake in Patina at Midtown, a 269-unit apartment building in San Jose. The company had co-owned the building before buying out its joint-venture partner in July for $117 million, or $435,000 per unit.
— Dana Bartholomew
Read more
Residential
San Francisco
Essex spends $101M for apartment complex in Downtown Mountain View
Residential
San Francisco
Bay Area apartment market slowly thawing this spring
Residential
San Francisco
CRP Affordable Housing eyes 100-unit complex in Mountain View