Google Buys 8 Sunnyvale Office Buildings from NetApp for $250M

NetApp, Inc., formerly Network Appliance, Inc., has agreed to sell eight buildings in the Sunnyvale's Moffett Park business district to Google for $250 million, according to documents filed with the SEC. The court filings also reveal sale-leaseback plans as NetApp will continue to lease portions of the property. NetApp announced this month that it would be cutting 376 Sunnyvale jobs by the end of April. The sale of the eight properties is slated to be completed by April 22.

"NetApp has committed to a restructuring and reduction in workforce to streamline its core business and reduce operating costs," NetApp said in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The eight buildings totaling 569,000 square feet include:
— 1299 Orleans Drive, 46,000 square feet
— 1277 Orleans Drive, 42,624 square feet
— 1260 Crossman Avenue, 95,464 square feet
— 1240 Crossman Avenue, 125,648 square feet
— 549 Baltic Way, 110,160 square feet
— 641 Baltic Way, 88,320 square feet
— 611 Baltic Way, 43,472 square feet
— 633 Caribbean Drive, 43,372 square feet

Potentially, 3,000 Google employees could work in the eight Sunnvale buildings, which is one of the high-priority expansion zones for Google. "This is a lot of space they are taking in Sunnyvale, and Google's goal appears to be to acquire as much as they can in this area," said David Vanoncini, managing partner with the San Jose office of commercial realty firm Kidder Mathews.

"People like to talk about the impact of startups, but really it's the big companies in Silicon Valley that are growing and creating the most jobs," added Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. "You will always have some churn among the second- and third-tier tech companies, but the big companies are the ones that dominate this area. [...] The big players are the ones that will really determine how the region grows and prospers. And because of companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, eBay, Intel and Oracle, the recovery and expansion in Silicon Valley is in good hands."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.