SAN JOSE — Google has moved into two San Jose buildings that are part of a huge tech campus where the search giant could eventually employ thousands if it fills all the buildings it has leased at that site.
The buildings are among four office sites that Google has leased along East Brokaw Road between North First Street and Bering Drive in north San Jose.
Google’s official expansion at the north San Jose tech campus, which is owned by legendary real estate firm Peery Arrillaga, arrives at a time when uncertainty has arisen over the precise pace of Google’s proposed transit-oriented neighborhood in downtown San Jose.
In 2019, Google leased four north San Jose buildings totaling a combined 729,000 square feet from Peery Arrillaga. The buildings weren’t constructed at the time of the rental agreement.
Now, the tech titan has occupied two of the large buildings on the site. The addresses are 122 East Brokaw Road and 1849 Bering Drive. A Google spokesperson confirmed the company’s occupancy of the two buildings.
A direct observation by this news organization of the sites revealed a campus bustling with tech workers inside and outside the gleaming office buildings. A multiple-level parking garage was packed with vehicles.
Some employees drove off the campus in private vehicles. Others boarded small shuttle buses that picked up workers at designated locations.
Signs on the campus featured an aviation theme. Signs, including one that suggests Google has named the four-building complex its Brokaw Campus, bear images of a jetliner.
That aviation theme appears to have carried over to the inside of at least one of the buildings.
The interior of the 122 East Brokaw Road building includes images of the Space Shuttle, the Saturn V rocket booster and flying machines from the days of the first aircraft, a review of Google Images shows.
Also included in the building are images of fictional aircraft such as the Millenium Falcon of the “Star Wars” space operas, the USS Voyager of a “Star Trek” television series, the Nostromo of one of the “Alien” movies and a Cylon Raider from one of the “Battlestar Galactica” TV series, according to the images from inside the offices.
Retro images of San Jose and its skyline, including the iconic Bank of Italy historic tower in the city’s downtown, are also inside the 122 East Brokaw office building.
It’s possible that 1,500 to 1,800 Google employees are currently working in the two office buildings where the tech titan is now operating.
The 122 East Brokaw office building totals 242,200 square feet, according to the CommercialCafe website. Potentially, the building could accommodate 1,000 to 1,200 workers, using conventional ratios for square feet per employee.
The 1849 Bering office building totals 126,900 square feet, Commercial Cafe estimates. A building that size could accommodate 500 to 600 workers.
This expansion comes at a time when uncertainties have emerged regarding when Google would launch the construction of a transit village next to the Diridon train station and SAP Center in downtown San Jose.
Mountain View-based Google says that it is “reassessing the timeline” for the downtown mixed-use neighborhood it is planning, a characterization the company has made several times to this news organization going back to February of this year. The most recent such update to reaffirm the ongoing assessment of the timeline was made by Google a few days ago.
The tech titan also said a few days ago that it remains fully committed to the downtown San Jose development.
Google’s Downtown West neighborhood would add millions of square feet of new offices, thousands of homes, and shops and restaurants to the western edges of the city’s downtown district.
The north San Jose offices where Google is now operating is a reminder that the company’s growth continues even in the face of layoffs, a wide-ranging reassessment of the company’s office and space requirements and the reassessment of the Downtown West timeline. That reassessment has stirred alarm in some circles.
“While the concern for Downtown West has been overblown, the north San Jose investment shouldn’t be overlooked,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy.
Google’s new office operations at the Brokaw Campus also are a reminder that north San Jose remains a sturdy employment hub and tech magnet.
“North San Jose continues to be a great place for tech expansion,” Staedler said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com