While Apple postponed last month its requirement that workers return to the office for at least three days a week, the tech giant keeps expanding its footprint in San Diego as part of a stated initiative to increase its local headcount to 5,000 employees over the next few years.

During the second quarter of 2022, Apple signed two new office leases in the Rancho Bernardo neighborhood totaling almost 150,000 square feet.

In April, Apple committed to 52,800 square feet in the Rancho Vista Corporate Center located at 16409 W. Bernardo Drive in San Diego. It followed that lease with a 95,166-square-foot deal in May for the full building at The Point located at 16765 W. Bernardo Drive.

Apple has driven leasing activity in Rancho Bernardo since 2020. The global tech firm has signed at least five new leases in the neighborhood totaling nearly 600,000 square feet. It’s fair to wonder how much more space the firm will take in Rancho Bernardo. Drawbridge Realty broke ground on a new office building totaling nearly 85,000 square feet there at the beginning of 2022 that could be another target for Apple, which is also leasing more space around the country.

Wondering About Apple's Commitment to Get Workers Back to the Office? Take a Look at This Lease.
The recent deals around San Diego come on the heels of Apple’s commitments in the University Town Center neighborhood, where it signed its first significant office lease in the San Diego area at the end of 2018. Apple has since leased at least 750,000 square feet in University Town Center in a mix of build-to-suit offices, relet space and subleases.

Apple is rumored to be the tenant that leased the under-construction, 70,000-square-foot office at 9514 Towne Centre Drive being built by Kilroy Realty. That project is located across the street from its 165,000-square-foot, build-to-suit at 9455 Towne Centre Drive that delivered last year.
All told, Apple has committed to more than 1.3 million square feet in San Diego since 2018, with that figure anticipated to rise further. This has made Apple one of San Diego’s biggest tech firms.