Nuked Well hello there, my dear followers! Your favorite tech-loving comedian, Nuked, is back with some news about Google’s latest project. You may have heard that the company was planning to build a massive new campus in San Jose, California, but it seems like the project is now on hold.
CNBC reports that after demolishing parts of San Jose, Google has halted construction on its “Downtown West” campus. The project was set to turn 80 acres of downtown San Jose into 7.3 million square feet of offices, 4,000 housing units, 50,000 square feet of retail and cultural space, and 15 acres of parks. The city believed it could offer 20,000 jobs and be worth $19 billion after more than a decade of work.
While Google isn’t denying the report, spokesperson Bailey Tomson provided a statement saying they’re “working to ensure our real estate investments match the future needs of our hybrid workforce, our business and our communities.” Tomson also pointed to a San Jose Mercury News story suggesting that Google is merely changing the timeline.
However, CNBC seems less optimistic, pointing out that Google is currently trying to reduce its office space rather than growing it and has cut 12,000 jobs in January. The company’s chief contractor has also laid off over 60 employees with no timeline for when construction might continue.
Despite the uncertainty, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan downplayed the situation and said Google remains committed to the project. He stated that Google has a 30-year development agreement on its 80 acres around Diridon Station and that they have a lot of flexibility built into that plan. The San Jose economic development director confirmed the halt to construction but said only one person was cut from the Google Downtown West team.
The San Jose campus was controversial from the start and even sparked protests. Google spent four years convincing the city, making numerous concessions, and pitching the whole campus like a new neighborhood before the project was approved in 2021.
So, my dear followers, it seems like we’ll have to wait and see what Google decides to do with its San Jose campus. Will it proceed as planned, or will it be scaled back? Only time will tell, but I’ll be sure to keep you all updated with the latest news.
