Zoom's Downtown San Jose HQ Campus Sells for $82 Million, Less Than Half Its Assessed Value

The downtown San Jose office campus that houses Zoom's global headquarters has changed hands for $82 million, a price that shows how far Silicon Valley office values have fallen since the pandemic, even as the market shows signs of life.

An affiliate of SFF Realty Partners bought The Almaden, a three-building campus at 1, 55 and 99 Almaden Blvd., from an investment trust run by KBS, according to a KBS announcement and documents filed Oct. 8 with the Santa Clara County Recorder's Office, as first reported by the Mercury News. The all-cash deal includes a 1,264-space parking garage.

A steep markdown

The buildings total about 416,000 square feet, so the sale works out to roughly $197 a square foot. KBS paid about $150 million, or around $360 a square foot, when it bought the campus in 2015, The Real Deal reported, and Bisnow said the firm spent about $49 million on upgrades during its decade of ownership.

The price also lands far below the county's own number. The Santa Clara County Assessor's Office had estimated the property's value at $181.1 million as of January, meaning it sold for 54.7% less, according to that report.

Why it still counts as good news for downtown

Despite the discount, the Silicon Valley Business Journal called it the priciest office sale in San Jose since before the pandemic, and noted that falling vacancy rates suggest the region's office slump may be starting to turn for landlords.

The campus, built between 1979 and 1982, sits in downtown's SoFA district. Zoom Communications occupies about a quarter of the space, according to KBS. Buyers who get in at today's prices can offer lower rents than owners who paid peak-era values, which could help downtown fill empty floors.

SFF Realty Partners has been on a buying streak in South Bay office properties, Bisnow reported.

The bigger picture

The deal arrives as the AI boom pulls tech leasing back toward San Francisco and parts of the South Bay. For San Jose, which has spent years trying to fill downtown towers, an $82 million bet on aging offices is a sign some investors think the bottom is near, even if prices are still a fraction of what they were a decade ago.