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May 27, 2021 03:30 am

Google's San Jose Mega-Campus Wins City Approval

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the San Francisco Chronicle: After more than three years of negotiations, San Jose officials voted late Tuesday to approve Google's plan for a sprawling downtown campus with thousands of new homes, millions of square feet of office space and a first-of-its kind $200 million community benefit agreement. It's a deal that business, labor and community groups say could signal a shift in Bay Area development politics -- particularly as San Jose, long overshadowed by neighboring San Francisco, looks to rebound from the pandemic with more active public spaces near transit. But in a region long accustomed to isolated suburban tech campuses and big-dollar affordable housing commitments, some still questioned how exactly a $155 million community fund will be spent, and whether it will be enough to offset familiar concerns about gentrification, homelessness and daily issues like parking. With the vote on Tuesday, Google can move forward with an80-acre development plan near San Jose's central rail hub at Diridon Station, including 4,000 new homes, more than 7 million square feet of office space, 15 acres of parks and 500,000 square feet of retail and other space. Under a community benefit deal approved earlier this year, the company also agreed to create a $155 million community stabilization fund for job training, homelessness and affordable housing. It's unprecedented for a Bay Area tech campus -- and a stark contrast to tech peers like Amazon and Tesla, which have at times asked governments to compete for business by cutting costs -- as well as developers from other industries where community concessions are not the norm. Before the coronavirus upended daily commutes, Google planned for up to 25,000 workers to occupy the new San Jose office. The company has since announced that some of its global workforce will shift to remote roles, but the city hopes that the proposed "Downtown West" neighborhood around the new offices will help buoy lively public spaces. "A Google spokesman said the company will soon transfer land to the city for planned affordable housing development," the report says. "It aims to start construction work in 2022 and plans to transfer an initial $3 million to the city within 30 days of approval of the project, the spokesman said. In the meantime, the San Jose City Council will be tasked with appointing a new committee to oversee the $155 million community fund."

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