According to reports coming out of Sunnyvale, California, Google has purchased a large part of the Yahoo office complex in 701 First Avenue. The Mountain View giant has reportedly purchased seven buildings in the complex, and will be renting them back to Yahoo for what is an undisclosed amount of money at this point.
While Google has not commented on the purchase so far, a Google spokesperson confirmed the purchase to ABC7 news. Meanwhile, Sunnyvale city manager, Kent Steffens said, “It’s a big deal. Google has acquired quite a bit of property in our Moffet Park area.”
As of now, it’s unclear what Google plans to do with its new purchase, however the company did say that it plans to keep the Yahoo office park as an office space only. Still, the company could want to use the buildings for its plan to build 1 billion homes in the Bay Area. According to Steffens, Moffet Park isn’t currently zoned for housing and should Google want to build houses there, it will require an amendment to the Moffet Park Specific Land Use Plan.
ABC7 news spoke to local residents about their thoughts on Google’s expansion into what is essentially their neighbourhood. Valeria Taylor, a local resident said to the news outlet, “(If) that would actually reduce the impact and street traffic all over the place, hey, why not!” She further added, “This would cut down on commutes, which is great. But we have water that has to be supplied to these homes, also sewer. How much sewage piping is there? And what is it going to do the infrastructure of our waste products right now? These are things we have to think about.”
Whether or not Google ever decides to convert buildings in the Moffet Park area into houses remains to be seen. However, even if it does, the city reportedly said that making the required amendment to the Moffet Park Specific Land Use Plan will take over a year, so Google clearly has a long road to go.
