Irvine Co. Buys a Bit of Silicon Valley

Continuing to expand beyond Orange County, the Irvine Co. said Wednesday it has acquired a 42-acre site in the Silicon Valley, nearly doubling its holdings in Central California.

Irvine Co. said it plans to put up 19 buildings with more than 1 million square feet on the land, part of the 200-acre McCarthy Ranch in Milpitas. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Newport Beach-based company also has an option to acquire 26 additional acres of the ranch, said Paul Kranhold, a company spokesman.

The Irvine Co. owns 39 buildings with 1.3 million square feet of space in Sunnyvale, San Jose and Milpitas, but this marks its first acquisition of undeveloped land in one of the nation’s hottest real estate markets.

The company plans to develop office and research buildings on the Milpitas site. Construction is to begin this year.

Until two years ago, the Irvine Co. was absorbed with Orange County, where it owns about one-fifth of the county’s land. But buoyed by rising prices in high-tech areas, the company has spread to northern San Diego County and the Silicon Valley.