Exclusive: Google Snaps Up SoCal Asset

Google has paid $32.5 million for an 83,356-square-foot campus in Goleta, Calif., according to Yardi Matrix information. Investec Real Estate Cos. sold the asset after eight years of ownership.

The two-building property is at 153 Castilian Drive, at the intersection of Los Carneros Road and Hollister Avenue, both principal arteries of the city. It occupies a 5-acre lot at the gateway to Santa Barbara Research Park, an R&D and technology corridor home to multiple aerospace, defense and tech companies. Santa Barbara Airport and U.S. Highway 101 are nearby, while the city’s downtown area is 11 miles away.

The purchase marks the expansion of Google’s Goleta footprint. The company’s presence in the city also includes leased space at 6868 Cortona Drive, less than 1 mile from the newly acquired asset, and a quantum AI lab at 301 Mentor Drive. Both locations are related to Google’s partnership with University of California, Santa Barbara on the research and development of quantum computing.

A Class B campus in Goleta

Completed in 1980, the Class B campus can accommodate light industrial, R&D and office users. The buildings feature 22-foot clear heights, dock-high loading and a total of eight grade-level doors.

The creative office component includes private suites, conference rooms and open workspace areas, as well as full-height glass windows and outdoor spaces. Additionally, the property provides ample surface parking.  

Google’s shifting California office portfolio

The Goleta acquisition is part of the ongoing portfolio shifts across Google’s California footprint.

In May, the company sold nine buildings totaling 1.4 million square feet at Pacific Shores Center in Redwood City, Calif. The portfolio had been assembled by Google through multiple purchases dating back to 2014.

At the same time, the tech giant is making selective acquisitions. One of them was the $25.2 million purchase of an office asset in San Jose, Calif.’s Alviso district, according to The Mercury News, bringing the company’s holdings around the Meadow Point campus to nine properties. The total investment amounted to more than $434 million.