Data Storage Giant Subleases 773 KSF From Meta

This is the Bay Area's largest office lease since the pandemic.

Exterior shot of Menlo Gateway in Menlo Park, Calif.
The office buildings at Menlo Gateway came online in two phases between 2017 and 2019. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

In the Bay Area’s largest office lease so far since the pandemic, Snowflake Inc. has committed to 773,000 square feet in Menlo Park, Calif., according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The data storage firm subleased the space from Meta and will occupy the office buildings within Menlo Gateway, a campus owned by Bohannon Cos. and Brookfield Asset Management.

JLL worked on behalf of Meta, which had preleased the space when it was still under construction, The San Francisco Standard reported. CBRE represented Snowflake. The leasing agreement is set to expire in 2033.

The Menlo Park location will be Snowflake’s largest North American office. Currently employing 7,000 people worldwide, the firm gave up its previous headquarters at 450 Concar Drive in San Mateo, Calif., in 2021 and indicated a Bozeman, Mont., address as its main executive office. The company, however, still occupies roughly 200,000 square feet in San Mateo under a lease that will expire in eight years.

Menlo Gateway, up close

Menlo Gateway came online in two phases between 2017 and 2019. The mixed-use campus comprises four office buildings rising eight stories, along with three parking garages and a 230-key hotel. Bohannon completed the complex using funds from two loans totaling $302.3 million, CommercialEdge shows.

The office facilities are LEED Gold-certified and have floorplates averaging between 26,000 ad 33,000 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, a business training facility, indoor and outdoor café seating, meeting rooms and a restaurant.


READ ALSO: How AI Firms Are Reviving Office Space Demand


Located at 100-190 Independence Drive and 101-155 Constitution Drive, Menlo Gateway is within 22 miles from downtown San Jose. The 16-acre property is also 18 miles from San Jose Mineta International Airport.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Mark Bodie and Toss Vallentine, as well as Vice President Clarissa Richardson, represented Meta in the deal. CBRE Executive Vice Presidents Luke Ogelsby and George Fax, along with Vice President Nick DeMartini, worked on behalf of Snowflake.

Bay Area office vacancy rate on the rise

The Bay Area’s office vacancy rate clocked in at 26.4 percent as of October, registering a 630-basis-point increase year-over-year according to a CommercialEdge office report. The index was the second largest in the West, surpassed only by San Francisco (27.7 percent), However, the area remained one of the priciest, with listing rates averaging $54.2 that month, well above the $32.8 national figure.

One recent notable deal was Vaxcyte Inc.’s renewal and expansion to 258,581 square feet at Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ campus in San Carlos, Calif. The property is expected to measure 1.4 million square feet at full build-out.

And, earlier this year, Intermolecular signed a 146,159-square-foot lease extension at an R&D building in San Jose, Calif. Cannae Partners and Blue Vista Capital Management own the facility that came online in 1980.