Apple's growth spurt is continuing, and The San Jose Mercury News reported that the company is moving into another Bay Area city, Santa Clara. Apple has signed leases with real estate developer Peery Arrillaga for a project that will encompass two six story buildings for 7-10 years.
Santa Clara is one of Cupertino's next-door neighbors, and the new buildings will be on Stevens Creek, not too far from Apple's Cupertino offices, as shown in the image below. They will hold some 1,200 workers.
Unnamed sources cited by The Mercury News said that all told Apple has signed deals with Peery Arrillaga for 296,000 square feet of office space, though it's unclear if that includes other buildings.
The space is already under construction, and is being purpose built for Apple. That, plus the longer-term for the lease compared to other leases the company has signed suggest that Apple may intend for these two buildings to be more than temporary digs while the new Spaceship HQ is being built.
Apple announced plans for a new headquarters dubbed the Spaceship HQ when Steve Jobs officially presented it to the Cupertino City Council in June of 2011. It was originally scheduled for a 2014 opening, but earlier in November it was reported that the opening might be delayed until 2016.
To fill the gap, Apple has been adding more offices in Cupertino, a data center in Santa Clara, and now this new office complex in Santa Clara, too.
"What Apple is doing is one of the highest levels of expansion we have seen for any company," Todd Shaffe of real estate firm Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank told The Mercury News.
Creative Strategies analyst Tim Barjarin added, "Apple is doing well, which is whey have these aggressive expansion plans. You cannot underestimate Apple's ability to achieve innovation. Their products are in demand. They continue to hire."
Cityscape image made with help from Shutterstock.