SAN RAMON — Sunset Development paid more than $170 million to grab the vast Chevron Park complex in the East Bay, a deal that keeps Chevron’s headquarters in San Ramon, public records show.
Chevron USA sold its campus on Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon for $174.5 million to Sunset Development, the principal owner and developer of Bishop Ranch Business Park, documents filed on Sept. 28 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office show.
As part of the deal, Sunset Development, acting through affiliate BR6001, also obtained a $157 million loan from Chevron USA to help finance the purchase of the 92-acre property, according to the county public documents.
Sunset Development, the principal owner and developer of Bishop Ranch, an office, retail and restaurant mixed-use hub in San Ramon, said Chevron’s new headquarters will be at BR 2600, a giant office center within the business park.
San Ramon-based Chevron became one of the first occupants of San Ramon’s Bishop Ranch business park in the early 1980s when it bought a 92-acre site that eventually came to be known as Chevron Park.
“It’s exciting to reacquire this important piece of land from our largest- and longest-standing customer we started with over 40 years ago,” said Alex Mehran Jr., principal executive with Sunset Development.
The development firm, one of the Bay Area’s legendary real estate companies, views the Chevron site near the interchange of Interstate 680 and Bollinger Canyon Road as an essential component of Bishop Ranch’s future.
At 1.3 million square feet, the Chevron Park buildings rival the size of a major regional shopping center.
“This parcel is at the gateway to Bishop Ranch and will be a key part of our planning as we create a distinct California community,” Mehran Jr. said.
San Ramon-based Chevron intends to create a reimagined workplace at the offices it will lease within the BR 2600 building, a vast complex that once was owned by one-time telecommunications behemoth Pacific Bell.
“Just as Chevron continually strives to evolve our operating model, we also seek to optimize our real estate portfolio,” said Mary Boroughs, president of Chevron Environment Management and Real Estate Co.
Chevron has hired NBBJ, an architecture firm, to design its new headquarters at the BR 2600 campus.
“Moving our headquarters to a new, modern leased space nearby provides the opportunity to create an improved employee experience in a more contemporary environment,” Boroughs said.
The building where Chevron will relocate its headquarters was once owned by AT&T, the successor to Pacific Bell, which bought the San Ramon site from an affiliate of Sunset Development in the 1980s. That huge building totals 1.8 million square feet and is near the corner of Camino Ramon and Bishop Drive.
“We look forward to working with Sunset and NBBJ to create a space that will inspire innovation, reinforce our culture, facilitate connections, enhance well-being and build a more inclusive and collaborative community for our San Ramon workforce,” Boroughs said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com