In a setback for the city of Mountain View, Google has canceled plans for a major office development in North Bay Shore, leaving an undeveloped construction site and questions about what this means for the city’s future growth.
Four years ago, Mountain View was part of Google’s bid to expand its North Bayshore presence with an ambitious 800,000-square-foot office development near Highway 101 between Rengstorff Avenue and Permanente Creek. Approved the plan.
The development, dubbed Google Landings, would span 41 acres and would include a new five-story building that would nearly triple the existing office space on the site. The project also includes his four-story garage on a separate property between Alta Avenue and Hough’s Avenue, which will be connected to the office complex via a crosswalk across Permanente Creek. .
As part of the package, we pledged more than $44 million in community benefits, most of which went toward transportation infrastructure and restoration to Permanente Creek riparian habitat.
But now, without much fuss, Google has pulled out of the project. “We take a prudent approach to ensure our real estate investments meet the current and future needs of our employees, businesses and communities,” a Google spokesperson said.
The tech giant contacted the city in December to ask about the process and permits needed to cancel the project, said Lenka Wright, the city’s chief communications officer.
Even back in June 2020, when the City Council first approved the project, there were concerns that Google Landing would not proceed as proposed. Just three months after the coronavirus pandemic began, City Council members said they met with Google representatives about the company’s wavering desire for additional office space. Although he announced the project at a public meeting, his Google officials at the time did not suggest the project was in jeopardy.
The first public look at the withdrawal came in an April 9 City Council report that laid out Mountain View’s infrastructure project and funding priorities for the coming years. Two transportation projects in the North Bay area have been removed from the city’s list. The report attributes the project’s closure to the cancellation of the Google Landings office development.
“North Bayshore employers continue to support remote work policies and more flexible commuting schedules and are reconsidering their office space needs. As a result, Google, our largest employer, is currently No office development is planned,” the report states.
Google Landings is fenced off from public view, so it’s not entirely clear what was demolished and what was built. But from what I can see, it looks like a big empty construction site. The project was planned to demolish approximately 250,000 square feet of existing office buildings and remove 1,058 trees, according to a 2020 City Council report.
Google did not provide further details, but said it is working to secure and rehabilitate the project site and is working with the city to evaluate possible future uses. “Google has called Mountain View home for more than 20 years, and we remain committed to investing in our local community and building a long-term presence here,” a company spokesperson said.
The tech giant’s presence in North Bayshore is well known through completed development projects, including the Gradient Canopy office complex. Less visible, but equally important to Mountain View, is its role in benefiting the community.
City officials say they are still studying the impact of a potential loss of community benefits associated with the Google Landings project, some of which has already been spent on capital improvement projects or is scheduled to be spent on capital improvement projects. It has been. Two major gifts totaling $20.8 million, the Permanente Creek Enhancement and the Net Zero Water Project, were completely unplanned and both were supposed to be implemented by Google and were contingent on construction of the Landings site. Ta.
The remaining benefits, worth about $23.8 million, were given to the city as a cash payment before Google received a building permit, Wright said.
The bulk of the payment, approximately $20.4 million, went toward funding transportation improvements in the North Bayshore area. Another $2.5 million is earmarked for the city’s disadvantaged community programs. The remaining $900,000 of his money was spent on the recent construction of the Magical Bridge Playground in Rengstorff Park.
At this time, the city said it is still unclear whether it will lose the funding it already receives from Google in community benefits.
