Rockwood Capital LLC has acquired a vacant office campus consisting of over 500,000 sq. ft. on the border of Mountain View and Palo Alto from William Lyon Homes. The property, situated on a 27-acre site, will be renamed San Antonio Station. Rockwood is partnering with Four Corners Properties, a Silicon Valley office and R&D developer. The purchase price was $90 million.
The property was originally constructed in 1966 as a shopping center called the Mayfield Mall. It was the first enclosed air-conditioned shopping mall in northern California. Hewlett-Packard purchasedthe property in 1986 and converted the mall into an office campus with dramatic interior atriums and high ceilings. William Lyon purchased the property in October 2011.
Rockwood and Four Corners Properties plan to renovate the campus, upgrading the buildings to class-A office space. The new owners aim to capitalize on the strong demand for a campus located near Caltrain, as the site is across the street from Mountain View’s San Antonio Caltrain stop, a 50-minute train ride from San Francisco. In addition, the property is within walking distance of retail shops, including the Village at San Antonio Center, whose redevelopment is currently underway.
"One of the cornerstones of our investment strategy is to acquire property in evolving mixed-use urban cores, which benefit from public transit and surrounding amenities,” Bob Gray, partner at Rockwood, said in a statement. “Revitalizing the former Mayfield Mall, which is proximate to transit, housing and retail, is one of the greenest forms of investment our firm can make. We are confident that a high-quality renovation of San Antonio Station, which will include the latest building technology, will be well received by Silicon Valley companies."
Bruce Burkard, Principal at Four Corners Properties, added, “We are seeing strong demand from companies who desire their own campus, but there are few, if any quality existing structures available and the majority of new construction is not designed for a true campus environment. San Antonio Station will also be ready for occupancy well in advance of new construction because we are simply renovating the existing property, which has incredible existing infrastructure.”
Kevin Cunningham of Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank is representing Rockwood Capital and Four Corners Properties.