The Associates Corporation of North America, the principal member of Gulf+ Western Financial Services Group, has signed a lease for several of its subsidiary and affiliate companies to occupy 118,000 square feet of office space at Hacienda Business Park.

According to Roger Gage, general manager of real estate operations in Pleasanton for The Prudential Insurance Company of America, owners of the building The Associates is to occupy, the lease represents one of the largest single transactions in the business park's three-year history. The Associates is a Dallas-based financial services company with assets of $7.7 billion.

Operations of Associates National Bank and Associates Federal Savings & Loan Association, as well as other consumer lending activities of The Associates, will move into the unoccupied portion of the first floor and the entire second floor of what is now called "Hacienda Center," a tri-towered, five-story, 279,000 square foot facility in the middle of the 860 acre business park.

"The Associates represents the sort of tenant for which Hacienda Center was built: a large, national company that's quality-minded, service-oriented and highly respected in its field," said Gage. Prudential will rename the $42 million facility to "The Associates Center."

The move to Hacienda Business Park will affect more than 400 employees of The Associates, now working in nearby San Ramon. Relocated operations will include credit card processing, consumer lending, marketing and administration.

"We’re very excited about the move to Hacienda," said W. David Huddleston, president of Associates Diversified Services, a subsidiary of Associates Corporation of North America. "The move gives us the opportunity to consolidate operations in a more efficient space, and at a more convenient location." Huddleston cited Hacienda's proximity to two major freeways (Interstates 580 and 680), the stability of Prudential and the visionary planning by the City of Pleasanton as being important factors in the relocation decision.

The Associates initial move to Hacienda Business Park is slated for April of next year. Eventually, the financial services company may occupy some 200,000 square feet of office space. AT&T is Hacienda's largest tenant, accounting for more than 600,000 square feet of leased space.

Representing The Associates in leasing arrangements was Bob Pester of Cushman & Wakefield's Lafayette office. Mark Sweeney of CPS, A Commercial Real Estate Company, represented Prudential.

Associates Corporation of North America provides commercial finance and leasing, consumer financial services and insurance. Founded in 1918, it has 720 offices throughout the U.S., Japan and the United Kingdom.

The Associates is the principal member of the Financial Services Group of Gulf+Western Industries, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company that also owns Paramount Pictures, Simon & Schuster and Madison Square Gardens.

The park is already home to Hewlett-Packard, Viacom Cablevision, AT&T, Security Pacific National Bank, Safeco Title Co., Crum & Forster Personal Insurance, Fleming Corp., Sheraton, Marriott and other leading corporations.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: October 14, 1985 Pathways.