Allen Valdellon just joined Transwestern’s San Jose office as VP and we got an exclusive interview on why he thinks the city is in a prime spot. Allen tells us the BART expansion from Fremont to Milpitas and San Jose will continue to spur a drop in vacancy rates in neighboring cities such as Palo Alto, Cupertino and Mountain View. Allen will focus on the acquisition, disposition and leasing of industrial, flex and R&D properties in the Southern Alameda and Santa Clara counties.

That comes as lots of mixed-use residential and commercial developers (and the usual small, mid-cap and big players in the tech industry) compete with each other to expand into what little land is left, especially in Northern San Jose. That competitive frenzy just happened this summer, with the Coleman Highline project out of the running for Apple's big campus (pictured).

Allen says solving the increasing problem of the lack of affordable housing means more great national or global companies can be attracted into the region. It would also keep the homegrown talent and experience from leaving the Bay Area as they start up their own new ventures, he says. Allen joins Transwestern from NAI Northern California in San Jose.