Google has reportedly halted construction on its 80-acre "Downtown West" campus in San Jose, California, CNBC reports.
The pause comes after layoffs that disbanded part of the project's development team. Google received approval for the project in 2021,
with plans to transform the 80 acres with 7.3 million square feet of
offices, 50,000 square feet of retail and cultural space, and 4,000
housing units.
- Following the initial
demolition phase, Google has now halted construction on the campus
without notifying contractors of when it plans to resume.
- Some
local leaders have said they hope the pause is only temporary. San Jose
Mayor Matt Mahan reportedly spoke to Google, which told him that the
plans had not changed except for a reassessment of the construction
timeline.
- A Google spokesperson said the company is assessing
how best to move forward with the development but is committed to San
Jose in the long term.
- The company wants to ensure its office
space reflects the "future needs" of its business, its hybrid workers,
and the local community, the person said.
- Google estimates the economic impact of the campus to reach $19B and bring 25,000 jobs to the South Bay.
- Last spring, Google announced plans to invest nearly $10B in 20 U.S. real estate projects in 2022.
- However, the company's finance chief disclosed in February that Google expected to incur costs of $500M during Q1 to reduce its global office space.
