Archinect - News

Google scraps $15 billion Silicon Valley development deal with Lendlease

2023-11-06T12:28:00-05:00

Google has scrapped a $15 billion development deal that would have benefitted California’s Silicon Valley with new modern office parks, affordable housing, and mixed-use districts, according to reports published by CNN and Reuters late Friday.

The deals struck with Australian multinational Lendlease cover planned developments in and around Santa Clara County, California, including Sunnyvale and three others in San Jose and Mountain View. Google had previously announced its plans to reduce its company size by about 6% at the beginning of the year.

Both Lendlease and Google had released statements expressing their continued pursuit of the projects in April when the San Jose Downtown West development’s start of construction was put on hold indefinitely. Lendlease now says the four-year-old deal is no longer “mutually beneficial given current market conditions.”

The news strikes a major blow to the faltering...

Google pauses work on 'Downtown West' San Jose development

2023-04-25T11:48:00-04:00

As part of Google’s downsizing that went into effect early this year, the company has gutted its development team for the San Jose campus. The construction project, which was supposed to break ground before the end of 2023, has been put on pause, and no plan to restart construction has been communicated to contractors, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named due to non-disclosure agreements.

The news broke on Friday amid a sector-wide fallout caused in part by the tech recession. CNBC reported that some sources now speculate as to whether or not the 80-acre development will be completed at the same scale though both LendLease and Google have reaffirmed their commitment to it in written statements. Google has now incurred $500 million in losses for the first quarter of the year alone on office lease exit fees.

Previously on Archinect: Google wins approval for 'Downtown West' mega campus in San Jose

Kohn Pedersen Fox, Heatherwick Studio, Grimshaw Architects, SHoP Architects, Solomon Cordwell Buenz, SITELAB urban studio, and West 8 were among the design firms attached to the construction, which was to be the single largest in San Jose history. The project was approved in 2021 after years of planning and an exchange with local opposition groups that ended in the decision to commit to adding $450 million worth of affordable housing and other community initiatives.

Google wins approval for 'Downtown West' mega campus in San Jose

2021-05-26T11:04:00-04:00

Google’s major campus development in San Jose, California has been unanimously approved by city officials. “Downtown West” will see the delivery of 7.3 million square feet of office space for 20,000 workers, as well as thousands of housing units, spread across an 80-acre site. The scheme involves a number of prominent architecture and urban design firms, including Kohn Pedersen Fox, Heatherwick Studio, Grimshaw Architects, SHoP Architects, Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB), SITELAB urban studio, and West 8 (landscape design).

Image: Google / SITELAB Urban Studio

The project is the largest single project ever proposed for San Jose and is reported to cost more than $1 billion. The campus will include 4000 housing units, 1000 of which are allocated as affordable units in a state that needs 3.5 million housing units for all income levels over the next four years to meet demands. The scheme will also include 300 hotel rooms and 800 residences as short-term accommodation for corporate guests, ...

Google reveals more details for Downtown West San Jose project

2020-10-12T14:24:00-04:00

Google unveiled on Wednesday its most detailed vision yet for a transit-oriented neighborhood in downtown San Jose [...] Google’s village would add 7.3 million square feet of offices, 4,000 homes, shops, restaurants, a hotel, 10 parks, cultural and entertainment hubs, and immersive and interactive educational elements near downtown San Jose’s Diridon train hub.

Google's ambitious 80-acre, transit-oriented Downtown West plan first appeared on Archinect in October 2019 and involves a number of prominent architecture and urban design firms, including Kohn Pedersen Fox (related), Heatherwick Studio, Grimshaw Architects, SHoP Architects, Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB), and SITELAB urban studio.

More details can be found on the Downtown West project website and San Jose's Planning Division.

Google pushes supersized mixed-use headquarters designed by Heatherwick Studio in San Jose

2019-10-21T17:29:00-04:00

Google's recently released filing shows plans to build an 80-acre development that will encompass up to 7.3 million square feet of office space and 5,900 units of new housing in San Jose, California, reports CNBC.

This exceeds the initial proposal of 6.3 million square feet of office space and 5,000 housing units presented back in August.

According to CNBC, the company hopes to address its expanding workforce through the plan as to accommodate up to 25,000 employees. In addition to the office spaces, the Heatherwick Studio-designed project will also include around 15 acres of parks and green space, retail, and up to 1,100 hotel rooms. Google has been trying to get this city to expand its building height limits so it can build upward, instead of outward, reports CNBC.