Google seeks to sell some Mountain View sites that may become housing

MOUNTAIN VIEW Google is pursuing the sale of acres of its Mountain View properties for attainable housing developments as the search giant seeks to operate more efficiently the company substantiated Spokesperson Ryan Lamont commented the tech company is exploring the sale of its Middlefield Park site a mixed-use neighborhood Google had secured approval for We continue to focus on investing in real estate efficiently to meet the requirements of our hybrid workforce and business Lamont noted Google stated it is considering likely buyers with the expertise and guidance to build residential housing according to Lamont A shift to housing at Middlefield Park would be a plus both for the region and for Google disclosed Tim Bajarin president of Campbell-based Creative Strategies which tracks the tech industry City bureaucrats have already approved homes with acres of land to be dedicated to the city of Mountain View for the advancement of up to units of affordable housing The rise plan includes square feet of developing ground-floor uses such as shops restaurants and society spaces Middlefield Park also was expected to produce million square feet of office space Plans for the neighborhood envision the removal of existing industrial office and research buildings to clear the way for the new village Right-sizing is the correct way to look at this Bajarin explained These sales have more to do with Google s strategic direction These Mountain View buildings in particular were significant at the height of Silicon Valley s tech boom But right now these buildings are not as strategic for Google It wasn t at once clear whether the roster of expected buyers for Middlefield Park consists of one company or multiple companies with residential rise expertise It also isn t certain whether Google would sell all the sites to one buyer or multiple new owners None of the Middlefield Park sales maneuvers signal a retreat by Google from its home territories We remain committed to our long-term presence in Mountain View Lamont commented Changing times are nothing new for companies like Google and others in Silicon Valley The tech industry is dynamic Bajarin declared It ebbs and flows The tech industry can carry out layoffs at the same time it s hiring a lot of people The early months of produced a rough start for the industry in the Bay Area Companies slashed a net total of positions according to a Beacon Economics estimate Employers chopped jobs in January and another in February All bets are off for the whole tech industry declared Russell Hancock president of San Jose-based think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley Google and other tech companies have become more cautious and incremental Following the COVID- pandemic a few businesses had to rethink how they would operate and expand Google was no exception according to Hancock Google is in business to change the world create cutting-edge profits make money Hancock announced Google also had a more expansive view of their enterprise They craved to build communities create neighborhoods build housing and be a company that would integrate all of those things The pandemic changed everything It threw a wrench into everything It s a different world on the other side of this If you are running any company you look at the world entirely differently Now for companies like Google the rise of artificial intelligence is having an effect on present and future operations Artificial intelligence is real investments are happening AI profitability is there and the tech s efficiency kick is paying off Hancock reported