SAN JOSE, CA—Some 960,000 square feet of speculative development is on track to be completed in 2015 here in Silicon Valley. A top-10 list of spec development projects in the region (shown below), provided by Newmark Cornish & Carey, shows a sign of market balance, and projects like 500 Santana Row—the 233,000-square-foot class-A office property under construction at the iconic mixed-use retail village—illustrate the diverse range of product, versus prior expansion periods focused on suburban campuses. That is according to the firm's Randy Gabrielson.

Gabrielson says that robust, jobs-based demand in the marketplace will need the spec elbow room. “With today's historically low 9% class A vacancy rate and dozens of growth companies actively seeking space, the office market is poised for continued positive net absorption in 2015 with asking rates expected to stabilize or continue to increase.”

Office space from spec development is giving companies a range of options from higher-density settings to traditional garden style campuses, Gabrielson adds, from West Silicon Valley to Cupertino, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. “The move toward higher density development is not only driven by the lack of land but by demographic and workplace trends as employees seek out more urban environments with shops, cafes, and entertainment options.”