When Chelsio Communications had to move its Sunnyvale headquarters, it was important to the Ethernet adapter company to remain in Silicon Valley, ultimately finding the spot for its new headquarters less than two miles from its previous location.

Chelsio signed a lease at 209 North Fair Oaks (above), a nearly 19k SF, one-story Class-A flex building with office and R&D space. Being able to relocate so close to its current home while occupying a smaller footprint means that move didn't significantly disrupt the employment base, and the company could design the new space for a more efficient work environment, says CFO William Delaney.

Prime Silicon Valley office space is expected to remain at a premium for the next couple of years. Sunnyvale is a competitive Silicon Valley submarket with an availability rate of 3.7% and asking rents averaging $3.49/SF a month. When Chelsio's lease came up at 370 San Aleso Ave, where it was one of two tenants, the landlord wanted to convert the 52k SF building so that it could house a single tenant.

Chelsio employs about 55 people in Sunnyvale and also has facilities in India and Japan. Chelsio worked with Savills Studley, and Cushman & Wakefield repped the landlord.