Boston Properties has decided to hit the pause button on its Platform 16 tech campus in downtown San Jose, the real estate titan’s top boss told Wall Street analysts during a conference call this week.
“As a result, we have decided to pause construction of the project with the completion of the garage and foundation scheduled for year-end 2023,” Thomas said. The Platform 16 project is located next to sites where Google intends to develop a new mixed-use neighborhood of office buildings, homes, shops, restaurants, entertainment hubs, cultural loops, open spaces and hotel facilities near the Diridon train station and SAP Center.
During the April-through-June second quarter of 2023, office vacancy levels reached all-time high levels in four key Bay Area markets: 31.8% in downtown San Francisco, 35.7% in downtown Oakland, 29.9% in downtown San Jose and 21.6% in Silicon Valley, according to separate reports from commercial real estate firms Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE.
In March 2020, Boston Properties broke ground on the complex with much fanfare and a ceremony attended by San Jose’s mayor at the time, Sam Liccardo, along with a host of other dignitaries and top officials.