Ross Stores picks Pleasanton for headquarters Ross Stores picks Pleasanton for headquarters (May 02, 2003)

Company relocating from Newark in early 2004

Ross Stores Inc. has signed a lease for approximately 150,000 square feet of office space at the CarrAmerica Center on Rosewood Drive and will move its corporate headquarters from Newark to Pleasanton early next year.

The lease, one of the largest ever for Hacienda Business Park, marked a significant turn in a slow commercial and office space glut that has been growing in Pleasanton and throughout the Bay Area. Although the vacancy rate in Hacienda is about 11 percent with rents ranging from $1.90 to $2.25, the business park is better positioned today than San Francisco and Santa Clara County, where the vacancy rate is over 20 percent. Just three years ago, vacant space was hard to find in Hacienda, where rents were topping $4 a square foot.

"The Ross move validates the incredible good value businesses continue to find in Hacienda," said James Paxson, general manager of the Hacienda Owners Association. "There's a lot of choice out there for companies that are searching for space so we're especially excited that Ross chose Hacienda."

Jim Peters, president and chief operating officer of Ross, said the company will also relocate its distribution at Newark to its new Southwest Distribution Center under construction in Perris, which is located 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Ross is currently reviewing its options for its existing headquarters and distribution center in Newark, Peters added.

"The office move will consolidate our corporate headquarters into this conveniently located corporate campus in Pleasanton, which we believe will support our growth needs for the foreseeable future," Peters said.

Ross operates a chain of 524 off-price retail stores in 24 states, including retail stores in Dublin and Livermore. The company generated annual revenues of $3.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year that ended Feb. 1.

Ross will become one of the CarrAmerica Center's largest tenants, occupying about 15 percent of the 1-million-square-foot, eight-building complex. Other large tenants include Cingular Wireless and AT&T, the company that first occupied the site.