Apple is considering a major corporate office expansion in northern San Jose, California, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The report claims that Apple is shopping at least two properties that it could lease in the city: Ellis Partners' 296,000-square-foot 101 Tech R&D building along Orchard Parkway and the 1.5-million-square-foot Coleman Highline development site near the Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Ellis Partners' 296,000-square-foot 101 Tech R&D building along Orchard Parkway

"If Apple does do some kind of expansion into North San Jose, it may have more to do with simple availability than anything else given the lack of building sites closer to Apple’s home," the report claims. "That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but simply the path of progress. And San Jose could finally be in the middle of it."

With limited real estate options remaining in its Cupertino, California hometown, Apple has expanded to nearby Santa Clara and Sunnyvale in recent years. But with a growing demand for additional office space, beyond its existing One Infinite Loop and upcoming Campus 2 headquarters in Cupertino, the company could soon make its first big splash in San Jose, the largest city in Silicon Valley.

The report claims that some other companies including Tesla have shown interest in the real estate properties, and notes that it is possible the company does not sign a deal in the end. San Jose is home to a number of large technology companies, including Adobe, Cisco, eBay and IBM, but the city has failed to attract heavyweights such as Facebook, Google and LinkedIn. Roughly 25% of Apple employees live in San Jose per a 2013 economic impact study prepared for Apple.