SAN JOSE — Apple formally took ownership Friday of two big pieces of North San Jose property within an area where it aims to develop a new campus.

The Cupertino-based tech titan bought two parcels totaling 16.3 acres with a combined assessed value that exceeds $61 million, according to Santa Clara County property records. The properties are near the corner of Orchard Parkway and Atmel Way.

“If Apple moves forward with this campus development, my joy will be exceeded only by that of the thousands of Apple employees already living in San Jose who desperately want a shorter commute,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Friday.

These recent purchases underscore Apple’s concrete interest in developing the properties, suggested Nanci Klein, San Jose’s deputy manager for economic development.

“Our understanding in working very closely with Apple regarding North San Jose was that there wasn’t exact clarity when development would happen, but that development would happen,” Klein said.

The sites consist of a building totaling 200,000 square feet and vacant land, county records show. A brochure circulated previously by the site’s former owner indicated plans for a second building, also totaling about 200,000 square feet. Potentially as much as 1.2 million square feet of offices could be built on the 16 acres.

Apple had struck a prior deal to lease the building. The technology company also was deemed previously to be interested in the vacant land as part its efforts to cobble together enough parcels for a campus.

Together, the two sites Apple bought on Friday had a combined value of $61.3 million as of mid-2017.

With the most recent transactions, Apple has now assembled enough land and buildings in North San Jose to create a campus totaling 85 acres.

Apple has said little about its ultimate plans for the acreage. Property experts say Apple recently initiated inquiries about obtaining more sites in North San Jose, either through leases or purchases, or both.

The current value of the property wasn’t disclosed through the newly recorded deed. That’s because Apple and the sellers, affiliates of Foster City-based realty firms, used an involved process to create a stake by Apple in the entities that sold the properties to Apple.

County property records stated that, prior to the official sale on Friday, Apple already had a “stock, membership, or partnership” interest in the entities that sold the parcels to the tech company.

The sellers were listed as Orchard Parkway Phase II Land, controlled by Steelwave; and Orchard Parkway Holdings, controlled by Legacy Partners Commercial.

San Jose officials have been keeping close tabs on the tech giant’s activity with other projects, such as the “spaceship” campus in Cupertino and a striking Sunnyvale campus whose primary feature is a curved building. The pace of activity at those sites is being taken as a good sign at San Jose City Hall, according to Klein.

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“Apple’s interest and commitment regarding North San Jose development has always been seen as solid,” Klein said. “This latest deal supports that conversation.”