MOUNTAIN VIEW — A mega-deal for Google to buy 10 buildings in Mountain View from NortonLifeLock, once known as Symantec, has been put on pause amid economic uncertainties unleashed by the coronavirus.
Separately, however, Google is expected to still push forward with wide-ranging plans for expansion at multiple locations in San Jose, sources familiar with the tech titan’s expansion strategies say.
Several huge potential job hubs for Google have sprouted in downtown San Jose and north San Jose, including a transit-oriented neighborhood known as Downtown West.
An agreement in principle had been reached whereby Google would purchase all 10 buildings that were being offered by NortonLifeLock in a huge package that was floated in January, according to several sources familiar with the planned transaction.
Then an array of government-imposed restrictions caused the lockdowns of legions of businesses in the Bay Area and nationwide, prompting tenants, landlords, buyers, and sellers to shelve an untold number of commercial real estate deals.
One of those deals caught up in the coronavirus thicket was Google’s tentative agreement to buy the vast NortonLifeLock portfolio, which is near the corner of E. Middlefield Road and Ellis Street.
The buildings, which together total 707,000 square feet, are all near or next to a big Mountain View office complex known as Google Quad Campus.
Mountain View-based Google had emerged as the anticipated buyer for the entire portfolio, sources said.
Google did not respond to a request for comment on the Mountain View deal or the San Jose endeavors.
Experts believe the tech titan won’t back off its expansion efforts throughout Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.
“Google will go full speed ahead once the coronavirus problems are over,” said Phil Mahoney, an executive vice president with Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial real estate firm. “I fully expect Google to pick up where they left off.”
Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm, was hired by NortonLifeLock to scout for one or more buyers for the 10 buildings, the offering brochure shows.
“The offering represents a generational opportunity to acquire a portfolio of 10 buildings totaling 706,737 square feet in the heart of Silicon Valley,” according to a property flyer circulated by Cushman & Wakefield.
The 10 buildings that NortonLifeLock seeks to unload are grouped into three campuses, all within a few minutes of each other in driving distance.
One of the three main sites is a five-building cluster at 350 Ellis St. that is described as the headquarters campus and totals 428,000 square feet.
Another complex is at 455, 487, and 501 E. Middlefield Road, which contains older office and research buildings, as well as a data center, a group of properties that total 128,000 square feet.
Despite the severe impact of the coronavirus on the economy, tech companies such as Google are likely to pursue their expansion plans.
“Google will expand in San Jose, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, as they will in New York City and other locations,” Mahoney said. “The virus doesn’t change where Google grows and when they grow.”
