Defense dollars tilt demand
A surge in Pentagon contracting is steering federal and dual‑use tech spending toward Silicon Valley, creating demand for secure, high‑spec office, R&D and light industrial space tied to defense work. Expect more build‑to‑suit and specialized leasing for companies transitioning from incubators to scale. (washingtonpost.com)
The Hill & Valley Forum in late March 2026 convened more than 1,500 founders, investors and policymakers and served as a focal point for tech–government dealmaking. (inc.com) Headliners at the 2026 summit included Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, underscoring major corporate participation in national‑security discussions. (bloomberg.com) The U.S. Navy awarded Hadrian a roughly $900 million package to build automated submarine‑component factories as part of a public‑private investment totaling about $2.4 billion. (defenseone.com) The Department of Defense purchased $400 million of preferred stock in MP Materials to accelerate a domestic rare‑earth magnet supply chain, signaling direct equity and procurement support for tech‑industrial projects. (bloomberg.com) Venture capital and private investors have funneled multi‑billion dollars into defense and dual‑use startups, elevating Silicon Valley firms as a growing share of Pentagon suppliers. (cnbc.com) The NatSec100 list from the Silicon Valley Defense Group tracks top venture‑backed national‑security startups that are most likely to drive demand for secure office, R&D and light‑industrial space. (siliconvalleydefense.org) The global SCIF market was estimated at about $4.1 billion in 2024 with an expected compound annual growth rate near 7.6% through 2034, prompting landlords to consider secure‑space retrofits and turnkey offerings. (polarismarketresearch.com) Turnkey secure‑space providers such as Westway are marketing move‑in‑ready SCIF suites, while mission‑critical REITs and brokers report rising interest in build‑to‑suit projects after defense‑linked funding announcements like Anduril’s 1.18 million‑square‑foot Long Beach campus (750,000 SF office, 435,000 SF industrial). (westwayllc.com) Program‑of‑record awards such as Palantir’s Maven designation create durable procurement dollars that translate into longer‑term leases and capital projects for prime and subcontracting firms. (dnyuz.com) Company rosters from the Hill & Valley Forum and the NatSec100 provide concrete lists of prospects and deal types—ranging from secure analytics offices to light‑industrial manufacturing campuses—to target for build‑to‑suit and specialized leasing opportunities. (inc.com)
