Morgan Hill CA Nov 13 2024 Sakata Seed Co., a Japanese horticulture company, has sold its Morgan Hill office complex for $18.7 million to an electronics manufacturing company that plans to leave Fremont for the new headquarters.
PTEC Solutions Inc. purchased the property at 18095 Serene Drive, for $18.7 million, according to records filed with the Santa Clara County Clerk Recorders Office Nov. 8.
The nearly nine-acre Morgan Hill property includes two buildings totaling about 76,000 square feet, according to real estate database PropertyShark. The site also includes 3.8 acres of expansion land, according to Colliers, which marketed the site. The property was on the market for nearly a year before the deal closed.
Sakata, a major subsidiary of Sakata America Holding Co. Inc., develops, grows and sells seeds through distributors to farmers.
Sakata moved most of the Morgan Hill employees to a 219-acre California headquarters in Woodland three months ago, with some employees relocating to Salinas and Marina. After Covid, Sakata had around 55 employees working from the Morgan Hill site, according to the company.
Sakata’s Woodland campus is a consolidation of its operations including research and development, seed production, processing and testing. The move intentionally positions the company closer to University of California at Davis, which boasts strong agricultural science programs.
PTEC plans to move into the Morgan Hill site during the first quarter of 2025, leaving the company’s current Fremont office at 48633 Warm Springs Blvd.
The company has been leasing space, but Peter Pham, founder and president of PTEC, said it was time for a change. No longer needing to deal with rent increases was appealing, he said.
The Morgan Hill office will create opportunities to expand, Pham said. The company’s Fremont office is about 36,000 square feet and too small for their needs, he said.
Pham said he hopes to grow the company’s employee headcount at the new site.
Part of the motivation to move to Morgan Hill also came from its lower minimum wage, compared to Fremont, Pham said. Minimum wage in Morgan Hill is $16 per hour, California’s statewide standard. In July, Fremont’s minimum wage rose from $16.80 to $17.30