Business & Tech

Netflix/Albright Way Development Construction Has Begun in Los Gatos

No permit is needed by solicitors seeking signatures from Los Gatos residents to place General Plan amendment on the ballot, according to developer.

John R. Shenk, the developer of the future Netflix expansion site in Los Gatos, said he's already begun construction at the corner of Albright Way and Winchester Boulevard.

Shenk said Netflix has signed a 10-year lease for the first two of four total buildings that will be erected on the 21-acre site. Such edifices would be 65 feet tall.

The other two buildings are 50 feet. The total development was approved by the Council in August of this year at 485,000 square feet maximum.

And he said he believes Los Gatos Business Park, LLC's ability to deliver buildings three and four in the future was very important to Netflix's decision to lease the two buildings.

Los Gatos Business Park, LLC. is owned by The Carlyle Group and Sand Hill Property Co.

Companies like Netflix need to know that where they choose to grow and invest can be their long-term home, Shenk said.

To meet Netflix's needs, Shenk said he's already finished the demolition of several structures on the site and will keep building "so as long as those who continue to file lawsuits against the project are not successful in creating delays."

Assuming Shenk delivers the buildings on schedule, the Netflix leases are for 10 years, which is a long agreement and shows the commitment Netflix is willing to make to Los Gatos, he said.

Netflix also has control over for the remaining two buildings, about 242,500 square feet for future expansion needs, he added.

The two buildings closest to Highway 85 are the ones for Netflix, he continued.

Is there any other type of Class-A office building in Los Gatos? Shenk said there is not.

The only two that are close to being considered such high-quality structures are the two buildings Netflix occupies at 100 and 150 Winchester Circle, Shenk said.

Those two buildings are owned by The Sobrato Organization, which also originally developed them, he said.

Netflix is getting a lot of attention these days from townsfolk after a petition drive began Nov. 13 to gather signatures in support of the project.

About solicitors in town seeking signatures from townsfolk without a permit to put the issue on the June 2014 ballot, Shenk said a permit is not required for an initiative petition.

An election would circumvent lawsuits that have been filed against the development since it was first approved by the Los Gatos Town Council in August of 2011.

Voters would amend the town's General Plan, which opponents say caps building heights in town at 35 feet.

"The right of the initiative is secured in the California constitution," he said.

Los Gatos Town Manager Greg Larson said per state law, individual business sales tax information is proprietary and cannot be released without the permission of the payer.

However, he said, Netflix remains the largest sales tax payer by far in Los Gatos, although the revenues have dropped considerably due to the separation of the streaming subscriptions.  


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