Applied Materials, a semiconductor tech company that has its headquarters at 3050 Bowers Ave. in Santa Clara, has purchased three properties in Sunnyvale. The properties are in an area that’s bounded by North Wolfe Road to the west, East Arques Avenue to the north, Lawrence Expressway to the east and Central Expressway on the southern end.
The purchase of the properties for $113.6 million, increases the company’s holdings in the area as it has Applied Materials Building 81 located at 974 East Arques Ave. A description of the Arques Technology Center by construction general contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie, calls the development “a state-of-the-art microelectronics tool R&D and demonstration facility.” The center is 167,300 square feet and includes 60,000 square feet of cleanroom lab space and a 60 megawatt substation. The development has two linked structures including offices, a central utility building and parking building.
In 2012, Apple entered into a five-year lease for 224,000 square feet of space in four buildings at the Sunnyvale Research Center at 1050 to 1090 East Arques Ave. The tech company reportedly conducted a remodeling project in one of the buildings. Now that Applied Materials has acquired the buildings for $100 million, it’s now Apple’s landlord, at least for that share of real estate.
Prior to the recent purchase of the three Sunnyvale properties, Applied Materials had a listing of 20 addresses associated with its Santa Clara and Sunnyvale campuses, 19 of which are located in Santa Clara. It’s unclear if the Sunnyvale acquisitions will cause a shift in the location of the company’s main headquarters, currently in Santa Clara. Applied Materials media personnel did not respond to inquiries for this article.