Google partners with Australian developer on massive San Francisco real estate project
Google is partnering with an Australian real estate developer to complete its plan to build housing and other developments through the San Francisco Bay Area.
The tech giant’s agreement with Lendlease is expected to become a $15 billion development that will include homes, shops and hotels built on land owned by Google in three Bay Area communities: San Jose, Sunnyvale and Mountain View.
The project could begin as early as 2021, according to a press release, and could cover approximately up to 15 million square feet, Landlease estimates.
“Today's agreement expands on an existing and successful partnership that will help us deliver on two important objectives: our commitment to accelerate the production of residential units in the Bay Area, and our plan to build mixed-use developments,” David Radcliffe, Google’s vice president of real estate and workplace services, said.
This new agreement is part of Google’s $1 billion investment to help boost housing in the area, which CEO Sundar Pichai announced in June.
Pichai shared details of the plan in a post on the company’s blog, noting that Google is among the “largest employers” in the region – which is experiencing an “urgent and complex” housing problem, he said.
“The lack of new supply, combined with the rising cost of living, has resulted in a severe shortage of affordable housing options for long-time middle and low-income residents,” he wrote.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 168.95 | -0.28 | -0.17% |
| LLESY | LENDLEASE GROUP | 4.445 | +0.05 | +1.21% |
Pichai broke down how the substantial sum would be spent, saying the plan could generate 20,000 residences. The company will “repurpose at least $750 million” of their property in the next decade as residential housing, he said. The majority of the land is meant to be used as office or commercial space.
“This will enable us to support the development of at least 15,000 new homes at all income levels in the Bay Area, including housing options for middle and low-income families,” he wrote.
The company will also designate $250 million to a fund so they “can provide incentives to enable developers to build at least 5,000 affordable housing units across the market,” Pichai said.
The process to rezone territories is already underway, according to Pichai who said the company has already worked with city officials in Mountain View and are in the middle of talking to leaders in Sunnyvale and San Jose.
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Nonprofit organizations working to tackle homelessness and displacement will also receive $50 million in grant funding via Google.org, according to the blog post.
FOX Business’ Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.