SAN JOSE — The owner of the Rotten Robbie gasoline station chain has bought several San Jose buildings in a deal that tops $35 million, public records show.
Robinson Oil Corp. has bought several buildings on Charter Park Drive in south San Jose, paying $38.8 million for the properties, according to documents filed on July 15 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
Rotten Robbie logos are visible at one of the company’s gasoline and retail stations at 1202 Oakland Road in north San Jose. (Google Maps)
“This is an investment for our company,” said Tom Robinson, chairman of Robinson Oil, which owns the Rotten Robbie gas station and convenience store chain. “We think the commercial and industrial space is a good solid space that is somewhat resistant to Amazon online shopping and other things like that.”
Robinson Oil was interested in the properties because the tenants in that location tend to use their spaces for in-person work rather than remote work.
“The tenants utilize the facility for storage or some sort of work that has to be done in person,” Robinson said. “These properties are not like an office building that might have a lot of vacancies because people are working remotely.”
The buildings that Robinson Oil bought have addresses of 3641, 3680, 3710, 3732 and 3851 Charter Park Drive, which is located near the corner of Hillsdale Avenue and Communications Park Boulevard.
“The buildings are really set up for smaller businesses,” Robinson said.
F&W Investment Co., a San Jose-based family-operated real estate firm with its offices on Charter Park Drive, sold the buildings to Robinson Oil. F&W also provided the buyer with a loan at the time of the purchase, the county records show.
Santa Clara-based Robinson Oil owns 36 Rotten Robbie stations, according to the company’s website.
“We are a family-run business that’s in its fourth generation of ownership,” Robinson said.
