| News - Friday, June 6, 2008
NASA, Google hatch deal
Company to build 42-acre Moffett Field campus in 2013
by Daniel DeBolt
A 42-acre Google campus is now set for Moffett Field thanks to a 40 year lease agreement the Internet giant signed with NASA Ames on Wednesday.
"This long-term lease agreement is a key component of Google's strategy for continued growth in Silicon Valley," said David Radcliffe, Google's vice president of real estate and workplace services, in a NASA Ames press release.
Under the agreement, Google plans to construct 1.2 million square feet of office and R&D facilities on "unimproved land" in the northwest corner of Moffett Field. (For a map, see maps.google.com/googleameslease.) Construction won't start until 2013, however, followed by additional phases in 2018 and 2022.
Google plans to construct company housing as part of the development, including amenities for dining, child care, fitness and areas for recreation and park space.
The lease comes at a cost of $3.6 million — money NASA Ames may need to balance its budget, according a forecast made by the agency earlier this year. Google also will make "infrastructure improvement for NASA's use," the release says.
"With this new campus, we will establish a new era of expanded collaboration with Google that will further enhance our Silicon Valley connections," said Ames Director S. Pete Worden in the release.
Google already has partnered with NASA on a "planetary content project" to help scientists publish planetary data online. And the company's "disaster response project" is using NASA information to develop prototype software tools to aid in large-scale disaster response efforts.
NASA Ames will issue permits and oversee construction for the project similar to the way a city would, according to the release.
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