Platform 16 office complex site being cleared for construction start this year

SAN JOSE — A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.

Known as Platform 16, the tech campus that’s planned near the corner of Autumn Parkway and West Julian Street in downtown San Jose would total 1.1 million square feet of offices and represent a striking new addition to the Diridon Station and SAP Center area.

Construction equipment and piles of debris and rubble were visible this week and last at the site, which is bounded by Autumn Parkway, West Julian Street, North Autumn Street, and a railroad line.

Among the potential amenities: Platform 16 is just south of a Target store that’s part of the bustling San Jose Market Center, and is within walking distance of San Pedro Square and Little Italy.

The property also is on the edge of neighborhoods where Google has collected numerous properties for a future transit-oriented development near the Diridon train station and SAP Center.

The developers of the site are a veteran group of realty firms: Boston Properties, TMG Partners, and Valley Oak Partners. CBRE brokers Sherman Chan, Mark Schmidt, Mike Charters, and Will Schmidt are seeking tenants for the site.

As many as 7,000 people could work at the new tech campus, once all three buildings in the development are complete, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate firm.

“We’ve begun demolition of the old obsolete buildings and are prepping the site for construction in late summer or early fall,” said Chan, a senior vice president with CBRE.

In what appears to be an effort to make the development pedestrian friendly and to integrate the complex with the nearby neighborhoods, two interior courtyards will be connected by walkways to adjacent streets. Potentially, that could give the campus a less isolated feel. 

The project developers and CBRE brokers also noted the buildings themselves will feature a series of terraces as a way to make the complex more attractive to potential tenants.

“The 16 outdoor terraces, integrated with every level of the buildings, provide unobstructed views out and allow daylight into the building courtyards and interiors of the large open floor plates,” according to a CBRE web site for the Platform 16 complex.