Google quietly terminates mega office development in Mountain View

In a setback for Mountain View, Google has ended its plans for a major office development in North Bayshore, leaving an undeveloped construction site and questions about what this means for the city’s future growth.

Four years ago, Mountain View approved Google’s plans to expand its presence in North Bayshore with an ambitious 800,000 square feet office development near Highway 101 between Rengstorff Avenue and Permanente Creek.

Dubbed “Google Landings,” the proposed development spanned 41-acres and planned to nearly triple the existing office space on the property with a slate of new, five-story buildings. The project also included a four-level garage on a separate site, between Alta Avenue and Huff Avenue, that would connect to the office complex via a pedestrian crossing over Permanente Creek.

As part of the package, Google pledged more than $44 million in community benefits, with most of it directed towards transportation infrastructure and the restoration of Permanente Creek into a riparian habitat.

But now with little fanfare, Google has pulled back from the project. “We’re taking a measured approach to ensure our real estate investments match the current and future needs of our workforce, business and communities,” a Google spokesperson said.

In December, the tech giant reached out to the city to inquire about the process and permits needed to discontinue the project, according to the city’s Chief Communications Officer Lenka Wright.

Even back in June 2020, when the City Council originally approved the project, there were concerns that Google Landings may not move forward as proposed. Just three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, council members noted that they had met with Google representatives about the company’s wavering appetite for additional office space. Presenting the project at the public meeting, Google officials at the time did not indicate the project was in jeopardy.

The first public inkling of this withdrawal appeared in a city council report on April 9 that laid out Mountain View’s infrastructure projects and funding priorities over the next few years. Two transportation projects in the North Bayshore area were removed from the city’s list. The report attributed the closure of the projects to the termination of the Google Landings office development.

“As North Bayshore employers continue to support remote work policies and more flexible commute schedules, they are reconsidering office space needs. As a result, the largest employer, Google, is not planning any new office development at this time,” the report said.

It is not entirely clear what has been demolished or built at Google Landings, as fencing shields it from public view. But from what can be seen, it looks like a big empty construction site. The project planned to raze about 250,000 square feet of existing office buildings and remove 1,058 trees, according to a 2020 council report.

While short on details, Google said that it was working on securing and restoring the project site and considering potential future uses for it in conjunction with the city. “Google has called Mountain View home for over twenty years, and we remain committed to investing in our local community and our long-term presence here,” a company spokesperson said.

Status of community benefits

The tech giant’s presence in North Bayshore is well marked by completed development projects, like its Gradient Canopy office complex. Less visible, yet just as significant to Mountain View, is its role in delivering community benefits.

City officials say they are still exploring the impact of the potential loss of the community benefits tied to the Google Landings project, some of which has already been spent or slated for capital improvement projects. Two large contributions, totaling $20.8 million, are completely off the table – the Permanente Creek enhancement and zero net water project, both of which would have been implemented by Google and were contingent on the construction of the Landings site.

The remaining benefits, valued at about $23.8 million, were given to the city as cash payments before Google received its building permit, Wright said.

A big portion of the payment, about $20.4 million, has been earmarked to fund transportation improvements in the North Bayshore area. Another $2.5 million is slated for the city’s disadvantaged communities programs. The remaining $900,000 has been spent on the recent construction of the Magical Bridge Playground at Rengstorff Park.

At this time, the city said it still was unclear about whether it will lose the funding it already received from Google as a community benefit.

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