SAN RAMON — Chevron sells its sprawling San Ramon headquarters campus to veteran Bay Area developer Sunset Development in a deal worth more than $170 million to keep the city of the East Bay home to the oil giant.
Sunset Developments, the principal owner and developer of Bishop Ranch, a mixed-use office, retail and restaurant complex in San Ramon, announced that Chevron’s new headquarters will be located at BR 2600, a massive office center in a business park. said it would be placed in
chevron Sold Chevron Park office complex for $174.5 millionaccording to documents filed with the Contra Costa County Registrar’s Office on Wednesday.
San Ramon-based Chevron became one of the first occupants of San Ramon’s Bishop Ranch Business Park in the early 1980s when it purchased the 92-acre site that would eventually become known as Chevron Park. became.
Alex Mehran Jr., principal executive of Sunset Development, said:
One of the Bay Area’s legendary real estate firms, the developer sees Chevron’s site near the Interstate 680-Bollinger Canyon Road interchange as integral to the future of Bishop Ranch .
At 1.3 million square feet, the Chevron Park building rivals major regional shopping centers.
“This lot is the gateway to Bishop Ranch and will be an important part of our plan to create a distinctive California community,” said Mehran Jr.
Chevron plans to create a reimagined workplace with offices it plans to lease in the BR 2600 building. The BR 2600 building is a sprawling complex once owned by one-time telecommunications giant Pacific Bell.
Mary Boroughs, President of Chevron Environment Management and Real Estate Co.
Chevron hired architecture firm NBBJ to design its new headquarters on the BR 2600 campus.
“Relocating our headquarters to a new, modern rental space nearby gives us the opportunity to enhance the employee experience in a more contemporary environment,” said Boroughs.
The building into which Chevron will move its headquarters was owned by AT&T, successor to Pacific Bell, which bought the San Ramon site from a Sunset Development affiliate in the 1980s. The massive building covers 1.8 million square feet and is located near the corner of Camino Ramon and Bishop Drives.
“Working with Sunset and NBBJ to inspire innovation, strengthen our culture, foster connections, enhance wellbeing and build a more inclusive and supportive community for San Ramon employees. We look forward to creating a space that will do just that,” said Boroughs.
AT&T sold its massive office hub to a partner of Sunset Development and insurer MetLife for $250 million in 2014. Sunset Development renovated a huge office building and leased the majority of it to multiple large tenants, including GE Digital.
A combination of Wednesday’s Chevron deal and an AT&T deal a few years ago gave Sunset Development back full control over most of Bishop Ranch’s assets.
“We have now reacquired the two largest parcels that were sold to Chevron and Pacbell when my father and grandfather started Bishop Ranch in 1978,” Mehran Jr. said.
Chevron has now moved to a Bishop Ranch tenant rather than a Sunset Development property owner peer, but the developer believes its partnership with the energy giant will continue to thrive.
“Chevron has been a key partner in the development of Bishop Ranch and we look forward to working with them as their evolving needs are met,” said Mehran Jr. “I am thrilled to lead Bishop Ranch as these original deals come to an end and the land and buildings are redeveloped for future generations.”