It has been the talk of the town for over a year – and it even turned into a protest last Wednesday: Google San Jose. Just one week ago, representatives from Google laid out their most recent proposal for the transit-oriented village at a public San Jose City Hall Meeting. Despite a 45-minute disruption from protestors, Google’s urban design lead Michael Flynn insists that “Community participation, involvement and approval has become a fundamental component…”, in regard to urban design trends as a whole.
While it may seem like we have been talking about the potential impact of Google San Jose for a long time, land acquisition efforts begin just over a year ago in December of 2016. At present, Google’s total property investment in the San Jose Diridon Station area has reached $350 million (a conservative estimate according to the San Jose Mercury News).
So what exactly is this project shaping up to be? Called "one of the most transformative events in San Jose history" by the San Jose Blog, development efforts currently involve:
| A planned 8 million square foot Google Campus in Downtown San Jose
| 15,000-20,000 Google employees working in San Jose
| 240 acres of land that would hold the majority of the Google offices and create accessible, public improvements
| 4 themed corridors:
(1) Los Gatos Linear Park (a green ‘eco walk’ that would connect the Guadalupe River to Los Gatos Creek)
(2) Paseo San Fernando (art, retail & event space)
(3) Cultural & Innovation Walk (along Montgomery & Autumn streets, plus Bird south of 280)
(4) Social & Commercial Loop (retail & restaurants )
Last week’s meeting marks the first time that the Station Area Advisory Group received a firm vision of how the Google plans would integrate with existing neighborhoods, communities and landscapes. With the transit village plans having been liked to “…a gateway to downtown San Jose, much akin the same way that Grand Central Terminal is a gateway to Manhattan” (San Jose Mercury News), project directors are even optimistic that this expansion can connect the Bay to the Redwoods. With the first sketches demonstrating a firm commitment to “the spaces between buildings” and a desire to “connect people, places and experiences in an authentic way”, Flynn appears focused on making sure the project is well-integrated and experience-driven.
Watching this whole development come to light will no doubt be an experience. Google’s Senior Director of Development, Joe Van Belleghem, assures concerned citizens that “Affordability and gentrification are very much on our radar screen”. There are still a number of government owned properties that Google is attempting to purchase (see the Google Village plan map HERE), and ongoing concerns about social displacement. Current homeowners remain optimistic that home values could increase substantially upon completion of the project and arrival of the estimated tens of thousands of employees.
We’ll be following this story and continuing to provide summaries for you; please let us know if you’d like to chat about your options today, plans for tomorrow and how to make the most of your property investment here in Silicon Valley.
All our best,
Mark & Jason