MegaPath is moving to a Pleasanton office complex that may become more attractive with a Safeway-anchored retail center that is rising nearby, brokers said Tuesday.
The telecommunications company has struck a deal to move about 135 workers to Bernal Corporate Plaza, on Bernal Road near Interstate 680. MegaPath, which is moving from another location in Pleasanton, agreed to rent 26,000 square feet.
The San Jose-based company expects to be in its new offices in August, according to brokers with Jones Lang LaSalle and Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank, the commercial realty firms that arranged the deal.
The company is moving into offices in a two-building complex that now is being touted by real estate agents as a small city — primarily because of the 130,000-square-foot Pleasanton Gateway retail complex under construction on the other side of Bernal Road.
“That shopping center has changed the whole nature of Bernal Corporate Plaza,” said Marcy Place, a broker with Cornish & Carey. “Our new marketing campaign is that this is a ‘city within a city.’ It’s helping us with our marketing for the buildings.”
MegaPath had multiple reasons in mind for relocating. The company wanted to reconfigure its spaces to enable expansion and promote a more efficient operation, said Paul Milley, MegaPath’s chief financial officer.
“We were limited in our growth options at our existing location,” Miller said. “We have designed the space to accommodate 20 more seats and have expansion options available to us as we continue to grow.”
MegaPath also could be closer to its San Jose offices as well as regional airports by being in offices right off a major freeway.
Still, brokers who represented MegaPath in its search for space said the retail center helped draw the company to that particular location.
“No question the retail center will be an amenity for MegaPath,” said Kevin Mechelke, a managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle. “The shopping center wasn’t the sole driver. But the company considered the retail a positive.”
Other tenant prospects also see value in the shopping nearby.
“From my normal day-to-day tours of the project with tenants, people are really excited about the retail that’s coming on board,” said Jeff Morgenstern, a broker with Cornish & Carey.
Executives with the Safeway subsidiary that is developing the center also were pleased about the synergy between the shopping mall and the office park.
“We believe our project will provide additional retail value for local residents as well as stability in the area for office park tenants,” said David Zylstra, chief operating officer for Property Development Centers, a Safeway unit.
A small strip center also is next to the office complex. However, the emergence of the Pleasanton Gateway project takes retail amenities to the next level, brokers said. Plus, the new center will be within walking distance.
“People can come to work and stay put,” Place said. “They won’t have to hop in their cars and go somewhere else.”
Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos.
