ONI Systems Signs 10-Year Build-to-Suit Lease

ONI Systems Corp. has signed a 10-year lease with Mission West Properties Inc. for a 455,000-sf, build-to-suit headquarters complex on 2.5 acres in South San Jose.

A maker of optical communications fiber that recently went public, ONI is having five buildings constructed at Silver Creek Business Park, near the southern intersection of Highways 85 and 101. Initial plans include occupancy of three buildings. Move-in is slated for the second quarter of 2001.

The project consists of four 98,500 square foot buildings and one 50,000 square foot building, with an aggregate maximum capacity of 1,600 employees. Being able to cluster key functions such as engineering, marketing and manufacturing on the new campus was key to its selection, said Hugh Martin, ONI president and CEO.

“This is a strategic move for us,” he said. As the company has mushroomed from 30 employees to 400, it has been spread across several North San Jose locations. Main headquarters are at 166 Baypointe Parkway.

Mission West is a Silicon Valley developer that manages 86 properties totaling approximately 5.93 million square feet. ONI Systems Corp. develops, markets and sells optical communications networking equipment that uses pulses of light rather than electric current in the transmission and routing of telephone, Internet and other data communications in these networks.