The Apple Real Estate Extravaganza continues, Apple apparently snagging a a former chip fab in North San Jose. The deal reportedly went through last week and saw Apple pay $18.2 million for the 70,000 square foot building.
Prior to the purchase, the plant had been a manufacturing plant for semiconductor company Maxim Integrated Products. The real estate description stated that the site was well suited for “prototype, pilot, and low-volume manufacturing.” The space, however, is too small for any serious manufacturing. Maxim purchased the facility in 1997 from Samsung, but later shuttered it as it pulled out of the consumer electronic business.
It’s thought that Apple will use the site for prototyping and light development and not serious chip making. The property is also just down the street from a Samsung Semiconductor site.
Apple has recently expanded its real estate purchases within the South Bay, the company having purchased a 43-acre developmental plot in San Jose for $138 million. Apple is also, of course, currently developing its new Campus 2 headquarters in Cupertino, which open in 2016. You can read our full timeline of that project here.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac and the Silicon Valley Business Journal