SAN JOSE — A South Bay transit agency has completed a deal to buy a San Jose office tower for $60 million-plus in a purchase that provides a downtown headquarters where hundreds are expected to work.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has bought an office highrise at 488 South Almaden Boulevard in downtown San Jose, according to documents filed on May 17 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
The transit agency paid $63.7 million for the tower, said Jessie O’Malley Solis, the VTA’s director of real estate and transit-oriented development.
“This was probably a once-in-a-lifetime deal in terms of the purchase price,” Solis said. “Our agency was aware of the state of the office market right now.”
In 2021, the selling group paid $153.7 million for the office tower, which occupies a prominent perch next to the San Jose Convention Center, property records filed at the time of that deal show.
This means the office building’s current price is 58.4% below what the sellers paid for the tower almost precisely four years ago. The latest deal also suggests the building’s price is 60.8% below the property’s assessed value of $163.1 million.
At the time the tower was sold this month, the principal entity in the selling group was an affiliate of EQ Office, which is owned by The Blackstone Group, a New York City-based investment titan.
“We are in an unprecedented time for the office market,” said Erik Hayden, founder of Urban Catalyst, a San Jose-based real estate firm. “Buying this 488 South Almaden site is one of the best fiscal decisions the VTA has ever made.”
When VTA moves hundreds of workers to the location sometime next year, the transit agency will be poised to provide an additional economic spark for downtown San Jose.
“We will have 500 to 600 daily employees in the South Almaden office building,” Solis said. “That will definitely enliven the area.”
The 17-story building that VTA has bought totals 390,000 square feet, according to a marketing brochure being circulated by CBRE, a commercial real estate firm. Colliers, a commercial real estate firm, represented the VTA in its hunt for a new headquarters.
“This deal shows there is no better time to buy an office building if you have cash on hand,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy.
The VTA purchase means the building’s huge chunks of empty spaces will no longer contribute to the overall vacancy rate in the city.
“Getting an empty building off the market is a huge boon to downtown San Jose,” Staedler said.
The VTA’s head offices are now in outmoded offices at 3331 North First Street near River Oaks Parkway in north San Jose. The site of that complex will likely be redeveloped, according to Solis.
“Our move downtown allows us to free up significant transit-oriented redevelopment land at our River Oaks site,” Solis said.
VTA’s just-bought office tower is slated to undergo some upgrades ahead of the transit agency’s move to its new headquarters in 2026.
During a February 2025 meeting, the VTA board of directors authorized its top staff to enter into a development management agreement with an affiliate of the seller to conduct an upgrade of the 488 South Almaden tower, according to documents associated with that meeting.
The VTA staff was authorized to spend “up to $43.4 million for the buildout and completion of necessary tenant improvements at the future VTA headquarters” at the office building, the transit agency documents stated.
“We plan to have our future board meetings on the ground floor of the building,” Solis said.
VTA employees are expected to have access to a gym and a lounge at the new offices.
“People are really excited about the move,” Solis said. “Over Christmas time, during one of the events held for employees, a gingerbread was made of the new headquarters. People are excited about where we are headed.”