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Over the weekend, Google assembled pop-up displays of its downtown San Jose mega-campus. Representatives were there to answer any questions the community had.
Mayor Sam Liccardo applauded the search giant's efforts to reach out to the community about the proposed project, which could unleash major changes in the city.
Liccardo said time will tell as to whether or not the campus needs to change to meet the needs of the community by saying, "Obviously, this is just the beginning," he said.
At this early stage, the framework calls for a vibrant urban village built around the Diridon Train Station. Liccardo says it's the type of tech headquarters that Silicon Valley has never seen.
“No more of this sort of suburban tilt-up, one-story building, surrounded by a sea of parking; this is going to be a very walkable part of our community,” Liccardo explained. “It’s going to have a lot of different kinds of uses integrated: restaurants, retail, office, and housing.”
Google’s Community Development Manager, Riccardo Benavides, told KCBS Radio that they plan to bring 20,000-25,000 jobs to the city.
Benavides addressed concerns about what this would mean for the affordability of housing in the area by saying, “What you see in our plan is making sure that, yes, we’re trying to create the jobs for people from San Jose and throughout the region, but as part of that list, bring the housing along with the jobs.”
Google has pledged to help build 5,000 new housing units, 25% of which would be designated as "affordable."
The campus proposal will be formally presented to the city council in October.