Google, Lendlease Opt Out of Real Estate Projects in San Jose
However Google has indicated it will move forward with the projects in other ways.
Google has reviewed its real estate investments and come to the conclusion that its $15 billion real-estate investment in the San Francisco Bay Area that included apartments, shops and new office space was no longer in the cards.
The company had partnered with Australia’s Lendlease to develop this vision four years ago but now has ended that relationship along with its plans, according to news reports.
“The existing agreements are no longer mutually beneficial given current market conditions,” Lendlease told the Wall Street Journal.
Google still appears willing to move the projects forward, according to a spokesperson.
“As we’ve shared before, we’ve been optimizing our real estate investments in the Bay Area, and part of that work is looking at a variety of options to move our development projects forward and deliver on our housing commitment,” Alexa Arena, a senior director of development at Google, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
The news is likely a blow to local housing advocates as the projects also included 4,000 new homes in the city’s tight residential market.
But San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told Bloomberg he remains confident that Google will move forward with its planned 80-acre mega development in his city. “This news doesn’t change Google’s commitment to San Jose or their timeline,” he said.