Apple has leased a second building in San Diego as it grows its engineering workforce in the region.

The iPhone maker confirmed that it will be the tenant for the 204,000-square-foot Apex project being developed by BioMed Realty on Towne Centre Drive in University City.

Construction recently started on the building, which BioMed Realty expects to finish in 2021.

Apex is next door to a nearly 100,000-square-foot research/office building that Apple reportedly leased earlier this year from the Irvine Co.


Work on the interior upgrades is wrapping up on the Irvine Co. building, which would pave the way for occupancy soon.

In late 2018, Apple announced that San Diego would become one of several engineering hubs nationwide as the Cupertino-based company expanded the footprint of its technical workforce.

The company said it expects to employ 1,200 workers in San Diego eventually. While Apple has operated retail stores locally for years, it hasn’t had a significant engineering presence in the region to date.

Apple’s expansion will pit it against Qualcomm in competition for the region’s wireless engineering talent.


The two companies settled a brutal legal war in April over Qualcomm’s patent fees. As part of the deal, Apple inked multi-year chip supply and patent license agreements with Qualcomm.

At about the same time, however, Apple acquired Intel’s cellular modem division, and analysts believe it aims to design its own cellular modem chips for iPhones. Of the 87 San Diego-based jobs currently posted on Apple’s website, most involve wireless engineers.

BioMed Realty said the four-story Apex project will have low energy certification, a fitness center, indoor/outdoor café, conference rooms and terrace space with views.

When Apex is complete, BioMed’s office/research portfolio in San Diego will total 3 million square feet.


“Leading innovation companies gravitate towards urbanizing markets like San Diego to gain access to the pool of highly educated and skilled workers,” said Tim Schoen, CEO of BioMed Realty.

