Top 5 Office Projects Under Construction in California

As the pandemic dramatically changed the office landscape, California’s office market took a deep dive, leaving owners and occupiers uncertain about what the future holds. Despite the lingering unpredictability, office construction did not come to a halt in California.

According to CommercialEdge, the state’s development pipeline encompassed some 38.5 million square feet of office space as of April, and nearly 3.5 million square feet was delivered year-to-date. The list below highlights the largest office projects underway across California, based on CommercialEdge data.

Source: CommercialEdge

5. CityView Plaza – 200 Park Ave., San Jose

Jay Paul Co.’s project in San Jose aligns with plans to revamp the city’s downtown. The 20-story office tower is one of the major downtown office projects that are poised to reshape Silicon Valley’s skyline. The 879,000-square-foot development broke ground in November 2019 and is slated for completion by the third quarter of 2023. The project also marks downtown San Jose’s first speculative building in more than a decade.

Jay Paul Co. purchased the site at 200 Park Ave., along with a parcel at 282 S. Almaden Blvd., for a total of $100 million. The two sites, at the corner of Park Avenue and South Almaden Boulevard, are located across the company’s Cityview Plaza redevelopment, a 3.8 million-square-foot project that will incorporate six interconnected office buildings.

4. The RaDD – Phase I, San Diego

The RaDD, San Diego. Image courtesy of IQHQ

IQHQ, a life sciences real estate development company, is developing the $1.5 billion San Diego Research and Development District, the first urban life sciences-centric waterfront campus in San Diego. The RaDD will include office, lab, and retail space and occupy more than 8 acres spanning three entire city blocks. At 937 N. Harbor Drive, the first phase consists of a 950,000-square-foot, 28-story office building, expected to come online in the third quarter of 2023.

The pandemic bolstered an already favorable environment for life sciences. The metro is the third-largest life sciences market in the U.S., with an existing inventory of some 19.6 million square feet at the beginning of 2020, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The life sciences hub is one of the major economic drivers in the metro, generating $39.4 billion in economic output and providing more than 65,500 jobs, Cushman & Wakefield researchers noted.

3. First Street Tower of Oceanwide Center, San Francisco

The 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development will feature more than 1 million square feet of office space. Upon completion, the 61-story tower will also include first and second-floor retail space and 110 residential units. The project broke ground in 2016 and was originally anticipated for completion by 2021, however, due to economic uncertainties the development timeline has been delayed until 2025.

Oceanwide Holdings purchased the 1.2-acre site in 2015 for $296 million for the development of First Street Tower, although as the company encountered financial difficulties, it planned to sell the project. Initially, SPF Capital International agreed to pay $1 billion for the development, but the deal failed to materialize after several delays. Oceanwide Holdings then entered a new agreement with Hony Capital, but that deal also fell through earlier this year, The Real Deal reported.

2. Richards Boulevard Office Complex, Sacramento

The California Department of General Services (DGS) is developing a nearly 1.3 million-square-foot office complex on the southwest corner of Richards Boulevard and Seventh Street in Sacramento’s River District, known for its industrial past. The office complex will encompass four buildings, spanning 17.4 acres, and will be connected by a three-story bridge.

DGS has selected Hensel Phelps and ZGF, in partnership with Dreyfuss + Blackford, to design the office complex. The team is focused on pursuing sustainable design solutions while keeping in mind the River District’s industrial character. The project is designed to achieve zero net energy and zero net carbon for the entire site and is pursuing LEED silver certification. The Richards Boulevard Office Complex is slated for completion by 2024.

1. Adobe North Tower, San Jose

Adobe North Tower. Rendering courtesy of the City of San Jose

Adobe’s project at 333 W. San Fernando St. in San Jose is the fourth tower of the company’s global headquarters. The 1.3 million-square-foot development will include first-floor retail space and five levels of parking. The North Tower will be an all-electric building, which means that the facility will be powered from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy. This also aligns with Adobe’s goal of relying on 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Additionally, the asset is designed to achieve LEED gold certification.

According to initial plans, the 18-story North Tower will be connected to the firm’s existing buildings by a pedestrian bridge extending over San Fernando Street. However, due to the pandemic, the company put the construction of the sky bridge on hold. Adobe also expressed uncertainty about whether it will complete the building’s interior, pausing plans until the company has a clearer image of its future physical office space needs.