Google to Invest $1B in Bay Area Housing

Jun 19, 2019

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that his company plans to allocate $1 billion in residential housing within the Bay Area region where the Internet giant is headquartered.

Writing on the company’s blog, Pichai pledged to initiate a 10-year project that will “repurpose at least $750 million of Google’s land, most of which is currently zoned for office or commercial space, as residential housing. 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.” Pichai also promised to establish a $250 million investment fund designed to incentivize developers to build at least 5,000 affordable housing units across this market.

“In the coming months, we’ll continue to work with local municipalities to support plans that allow residential developers to build quickly and economically,” Pichai wrote. “Our goal is to get housing construction started immediately, and for homes to be available in the next few years. In Mountain View, we’ve already worked with the city to change zoning in the North Bayshore area to free up land for housing, and we’re currently in productive conversations with Sunnyvale and San Jose.”

Google is also channeling $50 million in grants through Google.org to non-profits focused on the issues of homelessness and displacement in the Bay Area, building on the $18 million in grants it provided address homelessness over the last five years.

Pichai’s announcement represents the second major real estate investment Google has made this year. In February, he used the company blog to report an investment of more than $13 billion this year in data centers and offices, with major expansions in 14 states.

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Phil Hall

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Jun 19, 2019

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