Boston Properties Resumes Construction on Mega Project in San Jose

Construction on the first phase of Platform 16 in San Jose is underway once again after pausing in 2020. The mega office project is being developed by a joint venture between Boston Properties and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The first phase of the development is a 390,000 square foot class-A creative office building and an underground parking garage.

Located in Downtown San Jose on a 5.6-acre site, Platform 16 is a 1.1 million-square-foot office campus with 16 private outdoor terraces offering tenants city views, two pedestrian plazas for social gatherings and corporate events, a large fitness and wellness center and a café. It is in the center of a tech hub, adjacent to Google’s planned eight million square foot Downtown West and Diridon Station, the largest multi-modal transportation hub in the Bay Area consisting of Caltrain, VTA light-rail, the ACE train, and the planned BART and high-speed rail lines.

Boston Properties hold a 55% interest in the property, while Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has the remaining 45% holdings. While the two firms didn’t offer a reason as to why construction has resumed, industry sources have attributed the impetus to renewed office leasing activity. The developers expect the property to be ready for client fit-out in late 2024.

The development was announced in 2019. Boston Properties first planned to develop the asset with an affiliate of San Francisco-based TMG Partners and Valley Oak Partners. Then, later that year, Boston Properties entered into an agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment to develop the asset.

The project has been widely viewed as transformative for the area. Originally, the site was comprised of several industrial buildings and surface parking lots, with North Autumn Street to the west, West Julian Street to the south, and the recently opened Autumn Parkway to the east, and lies within the Innovation District of the Diridon Station Area Plan. At the time, Michael Covarrubias, TMG’s CEO and chairman, said, “The area around Diridon Station is poised to become our mega-region’s next major innovation hub. Platform 16 is well aligned with the Diridon Station Area Plan’s bold framework to integrate open space, transportation and development to meet the evolving needs of the region’s technology and business community and its employees.”