Fremont, California
Fremont's most valuable ground is a car plant: Tesla owns the former NUMMI factory, bought for $42.0M in 2010 and now carried on Alameda County's open roll at $2.66B, while owners' names stay off the record and a deed costs $3.50 a page to read.
8 buildings · 6 with an owner established · 29 sources · 7 tier A · 1 tier B · prepared 2026-10-14
California has no public register of title and keeps owners' names off the open record. Alameda County publishes every parcel as open map data with its assessed land and improvement values, use code and the number and date of its latest recorded document, but no owner name and no sale price. Finding the owner means buying a copy of the deed from the Clerk-Recorder at $3.50 a page. Each sale pays the County's documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500; Fremont is not among the eight Alameda County cities that levy their own conveyance tax on top.
The marquee buildings
The towers that set the tone of the core, and who holds them. A price is the price a document states, on the date it states — not an estimate of what the building is worth now.
| Building | Use | Owner | Owner type | Last price paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Fremont Factory (former NUMMI plant) 45500 Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538 (APN 519-1747-11-1) about 5.4M sq ft on 210 acres (as bought, 2010) |
Industrial | Tesla, Inc. Tesla's FY2025 10-K (s3) lists the 'Fremont Factory, Fremont, California' as Owned among its primary manufacturing facilities. Its FY2010 10-K (s4) says it bought the plant from New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (the Toyota-GM joint venture) and 'received title to the facility and land': 210 acres, about 55% of the land at the site, and about 5.4M sq ft of manufacturing buildings, for $42.0M cash. The County layer (s2) carries the main parcel at $83.5M land + $89.3M improvements but $2.66B net taxable - the largest in Fremont; the layer does not say what makes up the difference - with a latest document dated 18 Jun 2018. |
Public company | $42.0M 2010-10 Tesla's FY2010 10-K: purchase from NUMMI completed Oct 2010; 'The total cash paid was $42.0 million'; title to facility and land; 210 acres, about 55% of the site. A |
| Fremont Hub 39150 Argonaut Way / Fremont Blvd at Mowry Ave, Fremont, CA 94538 (main APN 501-976-12) 504,666 sq ft leasable |
Retail | Kimco Realty Corp, through its Prudential Investment Program joint venture 15% (Kimco's stated interest in the Prudential Investment Program) Kimco's FY2025 10-K Exhibit 99.1 lists 'FREMONT HUB', portfolio PRU, acquired 2007, 504,666 sq ft, 84.7% leased, anchors Marshalls, Ross and Safeway. The exhibit's key: 'PRU Denotes property interest in Prudential Investment Program'; the 10-K body (s6) gives Kimco's interest in that program as 15.0%. The same exhibit lists two other Fremont centres held outside the joint ventures: Brookvale S.C. (129,916 sq ft) and Gateway Plaza (165,554 sq ft). The County layer (s2) carries the Hub's main parcel at $57.0M land + $133.5M improvements, latest document 30 Jan 2015. The 2007 price is not in the filing. |
REIT | —A |
| Lam Research headquarters campus 4650 Cushing Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94538 |
Industrial | Lam Research Corporation Lam's FY2026 10-K (year to 28 Jun 2026) gives 4650 Cushing Parkway, Fremont as its principal executive offices and says: 'The Company owns the majority of the Fremont, Livermore, and Tualatin facilities.' The filing does not list buildings, so which Fremont buildings are owned rather than leased is not stated - hence tier B. The County layer (s2) carries the neighbouring 4540 Cushing Pkwy parcel (APN 525-1350-38-1) at $7.0M land + $115.0M improvements, latest document 22 Sep 2023; it names no owner. |
Public company | —B |
| Washington Hospital main campus 2000 Mowry Ave, Fremont, CA 94538 (APN 507-465-2-7 per the CEQA filing) 31-acre campus; 352,405 gross sq ft in 2006, planned to rise to 943,300 |
Institutional | Washington Township Health Care District The State Clearinghouse record for the hospital's 2003-2030 Expansion Plan EIR (SCH 2006112056) names the Washington Township Health Care District, 2000 Mowry Avenue, as lead agency and says the Washington Hospital Healthcare System 'proposes to redevelop its 31-acre medical campus', from 352,405 to 943,300 gross sq ft. Hospital-related parcels on Mowry Ave carry $0 land and $0 improvements on the County layer (s2). The District's own site (whhs.com / washingtonhealth.com) sits behind a Cloudflare challenge and was not read. |
Government | —A |
| Fremont BART station and parking 2000 BART Way, Fremont, CA 94536 TOD Phase 1 site: 8 acres of the station's parking |
Civic | San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) BART's Fremont TOD page (updated June 2026): on 28 Apr 2026 BART issued an RFP for a developer for TOD Phase 1, 'an 8-acre site on the northeast side of the Fremont Station', the east parking lot; the RFP carries a form of Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, and developer selection was expected in October 2026. BART's Upcoming TOD page calls the site 'a portion of BART's surface parking at the Fremont BART Station' (s10). At least about 700 rider spaces are to remain. No sale or ground-lease price has been set. |
Government | —A |
| Mission San Jose (Old Mission San Jose church and padres' quarters) 43300 Mission Blvd (Mission Blvd at Washington Blvd), Fremont, CA 94539 founded 1797 |
Institutional | Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, a corporation sole The National Register nomination form (prepared 6 Jul 1970, listed 1971) gives 'OWNER'S NAME: Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, a corporation sole', with Alameda County Recorder's Office as the registry of deeds. That is the owner as of 1970; no later record was opened, and the Mission's own sites were not read. The surviving adobe living quarters date from c. 1809-1810; the church is a chapel of Saint Joseph parish. No parcel carries the 43300 Mission Blvd situs on the County layer (s2). |
Institution | —A |
| Ardenwood Historic Farm 34600 Ardenwood Blvd, Fremont, CA 94555 (APN 543-231-18-5) about 75 acres (parcel polygon, Web Mercator; approximate) |
Land | Not established a paid title search would answer it The East Bay Regional Park District's page says the District 'has operated the property as a fully functioning, turn-of-the-last-century farm since 1985' on the remnant of the Patterson family estate. Operating is not owning, and no source opened says who holds title. The County layer (s2) carries APN 543-231-18-5 at $0 land and $0 improvements (use code 0300) and names no owner; the deed would have to be bought from the Clerk-Recorder. The City's own GIS park layer (s15) includes 'Ardenwood Regional Preserve', 205.7 acres, among its City park polygons; that layer is not a title record. |
Not established | —A |
| Pacific Commons Shopping Center Pacific Commons Blvd (43800-44509), Fremont, CA 94538 |
Retail | Not established a paid title search would answer it No SEC filing, press release or public record opened names the owner of the Pacific Commons retail parcels. The County layer (s2) shows two groups: six parcels at 44108-44509 Pacific Commons Blvd with no recorded document date (the largest $12.6M land + $63.2M improvements), and four parcels at 43800-43923 sharing one document recorded 10 Mar 2016 (2016-058101). In EDGAR, 'Pacific Commons' turns up mainly as a City of Fremont community facilities district in municipal-bond fund holdings. Reading the deeds means buying copies from the Clerk-Recorder. |
Not established | —A |
The core land
The most valuable ground in the city, and what the public record says about it.
Alameda County's open parcel layer carries every parcel's assessed land and improvement values and its latest recorded document, but no owner. Under Proposition 13 a value resets to the purchase price on a change of ownership and then rises at most 2% a year, so a long-held site is carried far below market. Figures were read from the layer in October 2026 (2025-26 roll values).
Who owns the town
At this scale the significant owner is rarely a trust or a fund: it is one or two local holding companies, a family in its second or third generation, and often the land around the town rather than the buildings in it.
Fremont's biggest holdings are public open space and one car plant. The hills east of the city are regional parkland (Mission Peak alone is 3,023 acres), the bay edge is marsh and regional park (Coyote Hills, 1,266 acres), and the Alameda County Water District and the regional park district jointly hold the 471-acre Quarry Lakes recharge basins. Tesla bought 210 acres of the former NUMMI plant in 2010. The State's holdings are led by the 66-acre California School for the Deaf. Owner names are absent from every parcel on the County's open layer, so private landholdings cannot be ranked from the public record. Park acreages are the owners' own figures and may run past the city limit.
| Name | Type | Holdings (as stated) |
|---|---|---|
| East Bay Regional Park District The District's park pages: Mission Peak's 'parkland's 3,023 acres' rise east of Fremont (s14); Coyote Hills 'comprises 1,266 acres of marshland and rolling grassland-covered hills' on the bay shore, entered at 8000 Patterson Ranch Rd, Fremont (s13); Quarry Lakes' 471 acres (350 of them lakes) were 'acquired by the two agencies' - the District and ACWD - 'between 1975 and 1992 through purchase, donation and inter-agency agreements' (s16). None of the pages says how much lies inside the city limit. District-wide: 73 parks, 126,809 acres (s18). At Ardenwood it is the operator; title was not established. |
Government | Mission Peak 3,023 acres; Coyote Hills 1,266 acres; Quarry Lakes 471 acres (with ACWD)A |
| Alameda County Water District EBRPD's Quarry Lakes page: the old Alameda Creek gravel pits 'began to be used for groundwater recharge by the Alameda County Water District, which diverts water from Alameda Creek into the pits'; the park's property 'was acquired by the two agencies between 1975 and 1992'. The split between the two agencies is not stated. ACWD's own groundwater pages (robots.txt Crawl-delay: 20, honoured) give no acreage. |
Government | Quarry Lakes recharge basins (471-acre park, jointly acquired)A |
| Tesla, Inc. Tesla's FY2010 10-K: title to 210 acres, 'approximately 55% of the land at the site', and the manufacturing buildings of the former NUMMI plant, for $42.0M cash; its FY2025 10-K still lists the Fremont Factory as owned (s3). Leased Tesla space elsewhere in Fremont is not counted here. |
Public company | 210 acres; about 5.4M sq ft (as bought, 2010)A |
| State of California DGS Statewide Property Inventory, city 'FREMONT': California School for the Deaf, 39350 Gallaudet Dr (66 acres, 361,574 sq ft); CDE Diagnostic Centers, 39100 Gallaudet Dr (25.74 acres); Caltrans Scott Creek Road satellite (29.26 acres); Fremont Hall of Justice, 39439 Paseo Padre Pkwy (Judicial Council, 8.17 acres, 124,100 sq ft); California School for the Blind, 500 Walnut Ave (178,620 sq ft); a UC off-campus site at 45388 Warm Springs Blvd (5.23 acres); DMV office; park-and-rides and truck scales. The inventory keys on postal city. |
Government | 12 properties, 151.45 acres, 699,025 sq ft of structuresA |
| City of Fremont The City GIS Division's Parks layer: 68 'City Park polygons', 64 existing and 4 'Underdeveloped Designated Park Land', summing to 1,251 acres - largest Central Park (351 acres), Ardenwood Regional Preserve (206), Sabercat Historic Park (102), Niles Community Park (65), the Park Golf Club (54) and the undeveloped Pacific Commons Sports Park (42). The layer warns 'Actual park acreage may differ' and is a park map, not a title record. City Hall's parcel (3300 Capitol Ave) carries $0 values. The City's ACFR and property pages on fremont.gov could not be read. |
Government | 68 City park polygons, 1,251 acres (GIS layer)A |
| Washington Township Health Care District The 2006 State Clearinghouse filing for the Washington Hospital expansion plan: the District's hospital system 'proposes to redevelop its 31-acre medical campus' at 2000 Mowry Ave (s8). The District's own site is behind Cloudflare. |
Government | 31-acre medical campusA |
| San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) BART is soliciting a developer for an 8-acre Phase 1 site, 'a portion of BART's surface parking at the Fremont BART Station' (s10). Warm Springs/South Fremont station land was not checked. |
Government | Fremont station parking incl. an 8-acre TOD siteA |
Who builds the houses
New-home building in this market: the volume, and the firms behind it. Ownership of a builder matters as much as its volume — a private-equity platform and a family firm behave differently.
Fremont builds mostly apartments, and the pace has swung hard. The Census Bureau's permit survey (s24) counts 1,148 new homes authorised in the city in 2019, 1,080 in 2022, 681 in 2023, just 131 in 2024 and 435 in 2025 - almost all of the swing in buildings of five or more units (935 in 2019, 35 in 2024, 341 in 2025); single-family permits run at 77-169 a year. There is no builder league table for the city and no open permit file naming developers was read (fremont.gov refuses automated requests). What the public record does show is who owns the large apartment stock, from REIT filings.
| Name | Type | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Essex Property Trust Essex's FY2025 10-K: Mission Peaks (453 units), Mission Peaks II (336), Paragon (301, built 2013), Stevenson Place (200), Boulevard (172), and three co-investment communities - Briarwood (160) and The Woods (160) through Wesco I (Essex 58%), and The Rexford (203) through Wesco VI (Essex 50%). Paragon was bought in July 2014 (Schedule III). |
REIT | 1,985 units (8 communities)A |
| Equity Residential EQR's FY2025 10-K Schedule III: Alborada (460 units, built 1999) and Fremont Center (322 units, built 2002). |
REIT | 782 units (2 communities)A |
| AvalonBay Communities AvalonBay's FY2025 10-K: Avalon Fremont (308 units, built 1992/1994) and eaves Fremont (237 units, 1985/1994). |
REIT | 545 units (2 communities)A |
Commercial landlords
The commercial side, counted separately from housing: who holds the office, retail and industrial floor area.
Fremont's commercial stock is industrial and R&D more than office: the I-880 corridor from Warm Springs to Bayside is tech manufacturing, distribution and lab space, much of it occupied by the companies that own it (Tesla, Lam) or lease it (Western Digital leases 295,000 sq ft for manufacturing and R&D; Bloom Energy leases 326,000 sq ft). A complete landlord ranking by floor area exists only in paid databases; the owners below are those whose Fremont holdings an SEC filing states, with floor area or book cost as the filing gives it. Prologis, the largest US industrial landlord, does not list properties by city in its 10-K.
| Name | Type | Floor area / book cost |
|---|---|---|
| Kimco Realty Corp Kimco's FY2025 10-K Exhibit 99.1: Fremont Hub, 504,666 sq ft, held through the Prudential Investment Program (Kimco 15%, s6); Brookvale S.C., 129,916 sq ft, 100% leased (Lucky, CVS, Planet Fitness); Gateway Plaza, 165,554 sq ft, 99.1% leased (Raley's, CineLounge). The last two carry no joint-venture code. |
REIT | 800,136 sq ft retail (3 centres)A |
| JLL Income Property Trust JLLIPT's FY2025 10-K: Fremont Distribution Center - 45275 Northport Ct (117,000 sq ft) and 45630 Northport Loop East (120,000), acquired 29 Mar 2019, 100% owned, leased to Quanta Computer to Jan 2032; 4211 Starboard, 130,000 sq ft, 95% owned, acquired 9 Jul 2021; medical office at 6300 Dumbarton Circle (44,000) and 6500 Kaiser Drive (88,000), acquired 15 Sep 2022. |
REIT | 499,000 sq ft (5 buildings)A |
| Diversified Healthcare Trust DHC's FY2025 10-K Schedule III: 47071 Bayside Parkway (acquired 27 Jul 2022, gross $70.75M, encumbrance $40.65M); 47201 Lakeview Blvd ($14.29M) and 47211/47215 Lakeview Blvd ($20.36M), both acquired 30 Sep 2011. Floor area not stated in the schedule. |
REIT | 3 properties, $105.4M gross book costA |
| First Industrial Realty Trust First Industrial's FY2025 10-K Schedule III lists 4160-4170 Business Center Drive, 4200 Business Center Drive and 42650 Osgood Road, Fremont, all acquired 2020 (gross carrying amounts $9.9M and $9.4M for the first two). |
REIT | 3 industrial propertiesA |
| Terreno Realty Corp Terreno's FY2025 10-K Schedule III: Hotchkiss (acquired 2017, built 1997, gross $8.75M) and Hotchkiss II (acquired 2018, gross $6.74M), one building each. |
REIT | 2 industrial buildings, $15.5M grossA |
| Office Properties Income Trust OPI's 10-K for 2025 (filed May 2026) Schedule III: Bayside Technology Park, Fremont, one property acquired 31 Dec 2018, land $10.78M, gross $12.91M. |
REIT | Bayside Technology Park, $12.9M grossA |
Looked for and not found
Claims this page would have made if a source could be opened. They are left out rather than guessed.
- Whether the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland still holds Mission San Jose: the only owner statement opened is the 1970 National Register form.
- Who holds title to Ardenwood Historic Farm: EBRPD operates it and the City's GIS lists it as a City park, but no title source was opened.
- Who owns Pacific Commons Shopping Center, and the parcels at 1031 Walnut Ave ($357.5M), 47478 Kato Rd ($275.9M), 5588 Cushing Pkwy ($230.2M) and 44758 Old Warm Springs Blvd ($224.4M) - the highest taxable parcels after Tesla's. No filing opened names them, and the County layer shows no owner.
- Seagate: its FY2026 10-K lists no Fremont property, so no Seagate campus is recorded here.
- Who owns the 295,000 sq ft Western Digital leases (s28) and Bloom Energy's 326,000 sq ft (s29) in Fremont: the tenants' filings do not name their landlords.
- The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish & Wildlife Service) holdings inside Fremont: fws.gov refuses automated requests.
- Union Pacific's rail corridors and yards in Fremont, Fremont Unified School District's school sites and Alameda County's holdings: no source stating their acreage or parcel count was opened.
- The City of Fremont's principal-taxpayer table and land holdings from its ACFR: fremont.gov refuses automated requests.
- A June 2026 trade-press report of a Fremont industrial building leased to Tesla selling for $132.3M was seen in search results only and not opened.
Sources
- Clerk-Recorder Fee Schedule effective 1 Jan 2024: copies $3.50/page; County DTT $0.55 per $500; city conveyance taxes listed for Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, Piedmont and San Leandro only (Fremont absent) — Alameda County Clerk-Recorder · openA
- Parcels FeatureServer: every Alameda County parcel with APN, situs, Land, Imps, TotalNetValue, use code, latest document number and date, mailing address; no owner name field — Alameda County Information Technology Department (Assessor data) · openA
- Tesla, Inc. Form 10-K FY2025, Item 2 Properties: Fremont Factory, Fremont, California - Owned — SEC EDGAR (Tesla, CIK 0001318605) · openA
- Tesla Motors Form 10-K FY2010: purchase of the NUMMI facility completed Oct 2010, title to facility and land, total cash paid $42.0M, 210 acres (about 55% of the site), about 5.4M sq ft — SEC EDGAR (Tesla, CIK 0001318605) · openA
- Kimco Realty Corp Form 10-K FY2025, Exhibit 99.1 (shopping centre list): Fremont Hub (PRU, 2007, 504,666 sq ft, 84.7% leased), Brookvale S.C. (129,916 sq ft), Gateway Plaza (165,554 sq ft) — SEC EDGAR (Kimco, CIK 0000879101) · openA
- Kimco Realty Corp Form 10-K FY2025: Prudential Investment Program, Kimco ownership interest 15.0% — SEC EDGAR (Kimco, CIK 0000879101) · openA
- Lam Research Corporation Form 10-K FY2026: principal executive offices 4650 Cushing Parkway, Fremont; 'The Company owns the majority of the Fremont, Livermore, and Tualatin facilities' — SEC EDGAR (Lam Research, CIK 0000707549) · openA
- CEQAnet SCH 2006112056: Washington Hospital Healthcare System 2003 to 2030 Expansion Plan EIR (NOP, 8 Nov 2006); lead agency Washington Township Health Care District; 'its 31-acre medical campus' — Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (State Clearinghouse) · openA
- Fremont Transit-Oriented Development (updated June 2026): RFP 28 Apr 2026 for TOD Phase 1, an 8-acre site at Fremont Station's east parking lot — San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District · openA
- Upcoming TOD Projects: Fremont - 'a portion of BART's surface parking at the Fremont BART Station' — San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District · openA
- National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: Mission San Jose (prepared 6 Jul 1970; listed 1971): owner Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, a corporation sole — U.S. National Park Service (NPGallery) · openA
- Ardenwood Historic Farm: 'East Bay Regional Park District has operated the property ... since 1985' — East Bay Regional Park District · openA
- Coyote Hills Regional Park: 'The park comprises 1,266 acres'; 8000 Patterson Ranch Road, Fremont — East Bay Regional Park District · openA
- Mission Peak Regional Preserve: 'This parkland's 3,023 acres'; Ohlone entrance 43600 Mission Blvd, Fremont — East Bay Regional Park District · openA
- Parks FeatureServer: 'City Park polygons in the City of Fremont' (68 features, ACRES field); City of Fremont - GIS Division — City of Fremont GIS Division (ArcGIS Online) · openA
- Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area: 471 acres, 350 of lakes; acquired by ACWD and EBRPD 1975-1992; groundwater recharge by ACWD — East Bay Regional Park District · openA
- Statewide Property Inventory, RealProperty layer: 12 State-owned properties with city FREMONT (agency, fee acreage, structure sq ft) — California Department of General Services · openA
- About East Bay Regional Park District: 73 parks, 126,809 acres in Alameda and Contra Costa counties — East Bay Regional Park District · openA
- JLL Income Property Trust Form 10-K FY2025: Fremont Distribution Center (45275 Northport Ct, 45630 Northport Loop East), 4211 Starboard (95%), 6300 Dumbarton Circle, 6500 Kaiser Drive — SEC EDGAR (JLLIPT, CIK 0001314152) · openA
- Diversified Healthcare Trust Form 10-K FY2025, Schedule III: 47071 Bayside Parkway; 47201 and 47211/47215 Lakeview Boulevard, Fremont — SEC EDGAR (DHC, CIK 0001075415) · openA
- First Industrial Realty Trust Form 10-K FY2025, Schedule III: three Fremont industrial properties acquired 2020 — SEC EDGAR (First Industrial, CIK 0000921825) · openA
- Terreno Realty Corp Form 10-K FY2025, Schedule III: Hotchkiss and Hotchkiss II, Fremont — SEC EDGAR (Terreno, CIK 0001476150) · openA
- Office Properties Income Trust Form 10-K FY2025, Schedule III: Bayside Technology Park, Fremont — SEC EDGAR (OPI, CIK 0001456772) · openA
- Building Permits Survey, annual place files (West Region) 2019-2025: Fremont, CA units authorised by structure size — U.S. Census Bureau · openA
- Essex Property Trust Form 10-K FY2025: eight Fremont communities, 1,985 units; Wesco I (58%) and Wesco VI (50%) co-investments — SEC EDGAR (Essex, CIK 0000920522) · openA
- Equity Residential Form 10-K FY2025, Schedule III: Alborada (460 units) and Fremont Center (322 units), Fremont — SEC EDGAR (Equity Residential, CIK 0000906107) · openA
- AvalonBay Communities Form 10-K FY2025: Avalon Fremont (308 units) and eaves Fremont (237 units) — SEC EDGAR (AvalonBay, CIK 0000915912) · openA
- Western Digital Corp Form 10-K FY2026: Fremont, California - Leased, 295,000 sq ft, manufacturing and R&D — SEC EDGAR (Western Digital, CIK 0000106040) · openA
- Bloom Energy Corp Form 10-K FY2025: manufacturing and R&D, Fremont, CA, 326,000 sq ft, leased — SEC EDGAR (Bloom Energy, CIK 0001664703) · openA