Carlsbad Land Buy Gives ViaSat Control Over Growth Destiny
San Diego's telecom darling has just captured a swath of virgin Carlsbad land that could help it control its own HQ destiny.
ViaSat has purchased 23 acres off El Camino and Gateway roads from Irvine-based HCP for an undisclosed sum. The site is across the street from ViaSat's current HQ campus, where it occupies nearly 1M SF in office space with various landlords, including 6155 El Camino Real (here). Cushman & Wakefield's Rick Reeder, Tom van Betten, Aric Starck and Dennis Visser brokered the land sale, but none could be reached for comment.
Sources tell us that for ViaSat—which has nearly 4,000 employees company-wide under the leadership of CEO Mark Dankberg (here)—the land play allows the fast-growing company to control its growth in Carlsbad. It could develop its own corporate HQ campus on the land, which is entitled for an excess of 500k SF. Or the land could simply be used for future growth and office consolidation. But given how hot land investment—and land prices—have been in Carlsbad in recent years, the deal gives ViaSat breathing room and time for decisions, given that its various HQ leases stagger in expiration over the next few years.
ViaSat has seen a lot of growth and success in recent years. Most recently, it secured a nearly $500M contract with the US Navy to supply radio and navigation systems (via the Department of Defense). And in headline-making news, Virgin America selected ViaSat's Exede Ku/Ka-Band Satellite powered WiFi system on its new fleet of A320s.
