Dive Brief:
- The Mountain View (CA) City Council has approved the master plan for a high-density residential and office development near the site of Google's new Charleston East campus, according to The Mercury News.
- Google and other developers plan to build up to 9,850 homes and apartments, almost 4 million square feet of office space and retail, as well as walkable parks. As a condition of its approval, the city council required developers to commit to making 70% of the new residential units studios and one-bedroom apartments, 20% of which will be affordable. The housing will be available to Google employees and those not affiliated with the company.
- Housing advocacy group SV@Home found that there is only one housing unit for every 2.7 workers in Mountain View at this time. Another report from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group said the region has seen jobs increase by 367,000 between 2010 and 2015, but only 57,000 new homes were built during that time.
Dive Insight:
While many Silicon Valley residents have welcomed the prospect of new, much-needed housing, Google's push to develop more residential units in the area has brought up other concerns about traffic congestion and parking.
In June, the city council said it was considering a reduction in the maximum number of allowable residential units by more than half to balance the ratio of housing to parking. Developers have argued that as employees relocate closer to work at Google and other area companies, it will ease commuter traffic in and out of Mountain View.
Google follows a growing trend of tech companies building up their capacity with both new, high-tech campuses and increased residential or office space around existing developments. In 2015, Facebook announced that it would be building a nearly 400-unit apartment complex in Menlo Park, CA. And, earlier this year, the company announced it would create a "mixed-use village" that would produce 1,500 new housing units. This summer, Google announced it would put $30 million toward providing prefabricated, temporary units for 300 of its employees.
