Apple has purchased 43 acres in San Jose, California, a plot of land big enough to hold a building as large as its massive Apple Campus 2, the so-called Spaceship HQ. The spot is the first known land purchase by Apple in San Jose, but it's right next door to 300,000 square feet of office space recently leased by the company.
Land Development in San Jose, with Properties Owned or Leased by Apple
Credit: Terry Forte and Nathan Donato-Weinstein for Silicon Valley Business Journal
Apple has leased office space all over Silicon Valley, with significant space in Cupertino, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale. The company's first foray into San Jose was the above-mentioned lease of space, but a significant land purchase shows Apple is serious about its presence in the city.
According to The Silicon Valley Business Journal, which broke the news, the property is zoned commercial, and is already approved for 2.8 million square feet of office space. That's the same size as Apple Campus 2, but that soon-to-be-iconic building in Cupertino is on a 176 acres, with significant space dedicated to vegetation, walking paths, and other non-office-space features.
The land is currently undeveloped, and no new plans or proposals have been filed for the property. Apple could be planning on developing it for the near future or it could be a hedge for unplanned development decades in the future. Until Apple files plans, we simply don't know.
It's certain, however, that Apple sees substantial expansion in its future. The company runs incredibly lean relative to its revenues, but clearly Apple sees even bigger things in its future.