Data center and advanced manufacturing campus eyed near regional wastewater treatment facility in North San Jose

In an economic boon for the city a massive plot of empty fields near the regional wastewater plant in North San Jose could become a new records center and advanced manufacturing campus potentially infusing the city s coffers with tens of millions of dollars annually Related Articles Bishop Ranch in San Ramon leads Bay Area return to office pace Assisted living senior care site in Los Gatos lands buyer from Chicago Family feuding over San Jose business nets millions from property sale Shift surfaces for San Jose housing project with -plus homes East Bay regional mall is bought by investors from New York City area San Jose plans to enter negotiations with Prologis the world s largest developer and owner of logistics real estate to develop the acres of economic lands bounded by Los Esteros Resource Center to the east Artesian Slough to the west Highway to the south and the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center to the north Prologis proposal dubbed the Sustainable Device Engineering and Manufacturing STEM Park includes four MW input centers totaling million square feet and four buildings for advanced manufacturing While the city received several proposals from credible firms San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan disclosed Prologis vision for the property leveraged the notable force quota coming online and could contribute to the artificial intelligence revolution I was really hoping to see input centers but also advanced manufacturing and high-paying jobs of the future Mahan commented I want us to continue to make things here in San Jose Prologis clearly offered the highest and best use of all the proposals Within the acres where the regional wastewater sits the city has envisioned growing a portion of the buffer lands for economic purposes The site is one of the largest undeveloped parcels left in Silicon Valley The property included restrictions on what could be built preventing odor-sensitive uses such as residential projects hotels or motels schools hospitals churches or event venues In May San Jose published a request for qualifications compiling a list of expected developers and brokers and other parties in its bidding system to drum up interest in the opportunity The three finalists vying to develop the property included the San Francisco-headquartered Prologis Catellus-Deca and TC No Cal Evolution Inc a subsidiary of the Trammell Crow Co Catellus-Deca s proposal called for roughly million square feet of flex space including material centers R D space or a business park and square feet of retail space located near the Highway exit Trammel Crow envisioned progressing the land with million square feet of warehouse space square feet of office space and square feet of retail While Prologis is a global firm it has extensive holdings and experience in the South Bay where it owns properties totaling million square feet The expenditure trust also has million square feet under advancement The firm is also the long-time owner and operator of the International Park of Commerce in Tracy which spans more than acres A deal with Prologis will still require City Council approval If an agreement fails to materialize city staff have recommended selecting Catellus-Deca as the backup developer A timeline shared by Prologis with The Mercury News targets construction between and and initial occupancy sometime in This project is an incredible opportunity to combine power modern infrastructure and strong partnerships to drive the next wave of innovation in Silicon Valley mentioned Damon Austin global head of Prologis Customer Led Advancement business San Jose s vision aligns perfectly with ours to create the space and vigor that fuel what s next for AI advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure With the city right now facing specific financial constraints Prologis project could generate around million in annual general fund revenue from utility taxes and paying rent to the wastewater healing facility Mahan explained Prologis proposal also made sense given the force commitments the city has secured that will triple its grid quota LS Power a Missouri-based utility improvement firm is constructing two major high-voltage transmission lines over the next meager years including one that runs through North San Jose descending from Fremont along a path near the regional wastewater facility The second transmission line runs from the Metcalf substation just north of the Coyote Valley to downtown San Jose Once both are complete San Jose s power maximum could reach GW Mahan added that in other parts of the country cities are scrambling to secure more vigor to keep up with the rise of records centers R D and advanced manufacturing while raising concerns among residents that they will see a rate hike But because San Jose has excess quota the addition of a project like Prologis would help spread out particular of the fixed costs and lower bills PG E authorities have noted that adding GW of use could reduce ratepayer bills by - At present PG E s grid is utilized at - on average noted Michael Medeiros vice president of strategic commercial solutions at PG E That means we have room to add large steady loads without compromising reliability and without having to build new infrastructure overnight Therefore by adding large potential users like records centers to our underutilized grid we can spread the fixed costs of maintaining the grid over more customers and lower the unit cost of potency In June months before the city selected Prologis as the developer San Jose also inked a first-of-its-kind deal with PG E that committed the utility giant to delivering major grid improvements with clearly defined performance milestones The agreement included a commitment to provide MW of electrical maximum for the first phase of the wastewater land advance Medeiros announced PG E has yet to meet with Prologis but was aware of its desire for more threshold We look forward to working closely with the developer Medeiros commented Once the developer signs with the City in we will need to conduct load and system impact studies These studies will give us a clearer picture of the infrastructure that must be built to meet the developer s necessities