Investors buy “exquisite” Silicon Valley tech complex for $357.6 million

MOUNTAIN VIEW — An “exquisite” Mountain View tech campus in a vibrant Silicon Valley tech hub has been bought by an alliance of veteran real estate companies.

TMG Partners and a real estate unit of Goldman Sachs have teamed up to buy a five-building office complex on Ellis Street in Mountain View for $357.6 million, according to documents filed on July 15 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

NortonLifeLock, a tech titan formerly known as Symantec, sold the five buildings in an all-cash deal to TMG and Goldman Sachs, which acted through affiliate Ellis Street Owner, the county records showed.

“TMG sees this acquisition of a fully amenitized campus as an ideal addition to our portfolio and greater Silicon Valley strategy for accommodating the evolving workforce in this market,” said Ben Kochalski, a regional partner with TMG, a San Francisco-based real estate and development company.

The five buildings that have just been purchased were part of a portfolio of 10 buildings in the Ellis Street section of Mountain View that NortonLifeLock offered for sale as a group in January 2020.

NortonLifeLock had wanted to sell the entire portfolio at the same time to one buyer but instead has wound up undertaking the sales of the 10 buildings in separate chunks.

In April 2021, an alliance of Bay Area developer Steelwave and New York City-based real estate investor Angelo Gordon & Co. paid NortonLifeLock $100.5 million for two buildings on Whisman Road in Mountain View.

Still unsold: a complex at 455, 487, and 501 E. Middlefield Road, which contains older office and research buildings, as well as a data center. These three buildings total 128,000 square feet.

The five buildings that were bought last week by TMG and Goldman Sachs were deemed to be the most attractive part of the 10-building portfolio, according to a flyer circulated in 2020 by Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm that has been handling the sale of the properties on behalf of NortonLifeLock.

“The cornerstone of the portfolio” is the “exquisite” five-building headquarters complex on Ellis Street, the brochure stated.

The lobby was recently renovated and the headquarters site offers amenities prized by today’s tech companies, according to the Cushman & Wakefield brochure. The lobby renovation cost $22 million.

“Campus amenities include open work environments, expansive meeting and conference rooms, kitchen and break areas on each floor, and collaborative space,” TMG Partners said.

The tech campus also includes a nearby amenities building.

“There is a full-service Union 82 Restaurant & Gastropub restaurant and all-hands meeting area” in one of the buildings, TMG Partners stated. “A bocce ball court, tennis court, sand volleyball court, and numerous outdoor patios” are also included at the site.

NortonLifeLock has agreed to lease one of the buildings. About 70% of the campus is vacant.

Newmark commercial real estate brokers Jon Mackey, Mike Saign, and Phil Mahoney are leading the leasing efforts for the big office campus.

“With Newmark leading our leasing outreach, we believe the interconnectivity of the campus, the indoor/outdoor amenities, and the adherence to health and wellness at the workplace will entice best-of-breed companies,” Kochalski said.

Full article by George Avalos: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/07/16/investor-exquisite-mountain-view-silicon-valley-tech-hub-358-million/