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Google's massive expansion plan: Its own village with up to 8,000 homes

Google reveals plans for a huge development in Mountain View, California, to bring its employees closer to work.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

Google has revealed plans to build a massive complex in its home city of Mountain View, California.

In documents published on Friday, Google details its ambitions to redevelop the North Bayshore area in Mountain View, adding new offices, retail space, and new homes.

The planned construction is part of the company's effort to address a housing shortage in the area.

According to CNBC, Google development plans include 3.12 million square feet of office space, as much as 400,000 square feet of retail space, and up to 8,000 new homes, as well as 35 acres of publicly accessible space.

Mountain View City Council approved a major redevelopment plan in December 2017 for Google to effectively build a new village to address the mismatch between jobs growth in the area and housing.

The city approved up to 9,850 housing units, 70 percent of which are studio or one-bedroom apartments. Twenty percent are classed as affordable units.

City planners hope the Google-backed project will address local traffic congestion by housing employees closer to its offices.

SEE: How to optimize the smart office (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)

Google's proposal has been designed to comply with Mountain View City's 'Precise Plan', which was adopted last year.

A Google spokesperson said the company wanted the area to be transformed with more housing options and "great public places that prioritize people over cars".

Google is already building a new Mountain View campus called Charleston East, with a multitiered canopy that covers the two-storey construction.

The campus includes walking trails, a public park, plaza, and retail space. The location was made possible by Google's exchange of land with LinkedIn in 2016.

Google has spent almost $3bn in the past two years on property in Silicon Valley.

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