Facebook Expands in Palo Alto; Subleases 265K Square Feet

It was only matter of time, but Facebook has made the decision to expand again. This time, Facebook has struck a deal for the 265,000 square foot, 3-building facility at 1050 Page Mill Road. About 14 months ago, Facebook leased 137,000 square feet at 1601 California Avenue.
The sublease from Beckman Coulter consists of 135,000 square [...]

101 Wachovia Branches To Close in California

The digestion of Wachovia by Wells Fargo is underway and as part of the process, Wells Fargo will be closing 101 California branches. In addition, 65 existing Wachovia branches will be rebranded. In Santa Clara County, the three branches to be rebranded include:

Berryessa Rd and Sandstone Ln, San Jose
Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto
Bollinger Rd and [...]

Palo Alto Mulls Extending Entitlements

Palo Alto is set to vote on Monday to pass an ordinance automatically granting a one-year extension for project approvals. In exchange, the city would require the projects to meet green building standards.
[via Mercury News]

Tesla Motors Takes Down 350K SF in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park

In what will likely be one of the largest deals done this year, Tesla Motors has signed a deal with Stanford to lease a portion of the Agilent Technology buildings high up in Stanford Research Park.
According to Tesla’s press release, the facility will be used as the headquarters, as well as manufacturing site for Tesla’s [...]

Stanford Shelves Shopping Center Expansion Plans

Stanford Shopping Center has decided to withdraw its plans of expanding the center and adding a hotel. Simon Property Group owns the center, which is on a ground lease from Stanford University. The plan was to add some 240,000 square feet of retail, and a hotel on the property.
Not much to say except this is [...]

Z Gallerie Closing Third of Stores

Z Gallerie announced that it will be closing 25 stores, representing roughly a third of its 77 stores. We’re not sure if any of the Bay Area locations are on the list, but the chain’s local stores occupy prime real estate. Z Gallerie’s Bay Area locations are:

340 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA
1628 Mt. Diablo Blvd, [...]

Best Buy to Close Downtown Palo Alto Magnolia Store; 2 Others

Best Buy (BBY: 39.58 -0.05%), the parent company of Magnolia Audio Video has announced that it will be closing certain Magnolia stores and Palo Alto is on the list. Magnolia is located on a hard corner at 180 University Avenue, across from Lytton Plaza, in a 2-story office and retail building. The store was opened [...]

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Cuts Lawyers and Staff

The iconic Palo Alto law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has cut approximately 45 attorneys and 68 of its supporting staff. The 660 attorney firm made cuts representing about 6.5% of its attorneys, and about 9% of its staff. This cut comes on top of cuts Cooley Godward made last week (52 attorneys, [...]

Prop 1A – High Speed Rail Measure Set to Pass

Video Rendering of San Jose Diridon Station
With 92% of the precincts reporting, Prop 1A looks set to pass with 52% voting Yes. The ballot measure, officially called the “Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act” essentially authorizes the state to sell up to $10B worth of bonds to finance the construction of a high-speed train [...]

Google Puts 225,000 Square Feet of Palo Alto Office Space on the Market for Sublease… Again

Google (GOOG: 565.20 +0.36%) has once again put its building at 395 Page Mill Road in Palo Alto on the market for sublease. Since signing a 10-year lease for the 224,000 square foot building mid-last year from Jay Paul Company, the building has sat vacant. The building was acquired by the Jay Paul Company from [...]