SAN JOSE — Acrisure has moved into its new office building at Santana Row in San Jose, bringing the fast-growing fintech into a modern workspace next to the amenities of the mixed-use neighborhood.
The financial technology and insurance company marked its move into its new workplace with a ribbon-cutting followed by a tour and unveiling of the new offices near the corner of South Winchester Boulevard and Stevens Creek Boulevard.
Acrisure logo at the fintech firm’s office in One Santana West, an office building in San Jose. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
“We feel like we have a world-class workforce and now we have a world-class home,” Dan Michelini, an Acrisure managing partner, said just before the ribbon-cutting for the office space in the One Santana West office building.
The new space totals 29,000 square feet. Acrisure occupies part of the second floor of the eight-story building. Federal Realty Investment Trust, the principal owner and developer of Santana Row, developed the new office building.
Acrisure office conference room at One Santana West, an office building totaling 376,000 square feet that is part of the Santana Row mixed-use neighborhood near the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
“It’s not just landing a tenant, it’s getting a company in here, operating in this space, and excited to be here, that’s everything to us,” said Jan Sweetnam, Federal Realty’s chief investment officer. “Their success is our success. Acrisure wants to be here, they want their employees to collaborate. That’s what it’s all about.”
The ongoing return to workplaces by companies is a welcome evolution of the economy in the post-coronavirus era, in the view of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who attended the opening of the new office.
“It’s fantastic, there is so much value in face-to-face interaction,” Mayor Mahan said in an interview with this news organization. “While the future of work will not look exactly like the past, there is tremendous value in getting people together face to face, at least a few days of the week.”
The Acrisure rental deal was the first of two big leasing wins at One Santana West for Federal Realty.
PwC in March signed a lease for 141,000 square feet in the new office building, agreeing to take space on floors six, seven and eight. With the PwC and Acrisure deals, One Santana West is about 45% leased.
AP+I Design was the interior space designer for the new Acrisure offices as well as some other office spaces in One Santana West, according to Cindy Mallay, a senior associate with AP+I. AP+I also will design a cafe and fitness center in the building. STUDIOS Architecture designed the building’s exterior.
Federal Realty and Newmark commercial real estate brokers Todd Shaffer, Tracey Solari and Randy Gabrielson, who are marketing the office building, have been touting the plentiful amenities at nearby Santana Row in their marketing efforts.
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“Mixed-use, urban, vibrant, walkable spaces like we have here at Santana Row will define the future of work,” Mayor Mahan said. “People want to be in areas that are interesting, that have amenities and allow them to mix work and socialization.”
Acrisure has moved 150 employees into its new workspaces.
“Our employees walk into this space and they can’t believe it, they can’t believe how beautiful this is,” said Jennifer Anderson, managing partner with Acrisure. “Bringing people completely together is monumental. COVID messed things up. People got used to working remotely. But it reenergizes people to get back into their workspaces.”
Santana Row is deemed to be the type of amenities-rich neighborhood that can attract workers and residents. So is downtown San Jose, in Mahan’s view. These might be the types of environments that have the best long-term chances for success in a post-coronavirus world, some property experts say.
“To be competitive in attracting employees, we will see employers want to be in denser, mixed-use, amenity-rich environments like Santana West and Santana Row, as well as downtown San Jose,” Mahan said.