By Sonia Herrera. San Jose Spotlight. Bay City News.
Time is money, and in Silicon Valley, that saying rings true. So when news broke that Google's highly anticipated megacampus in San Jose might be postponed, it raised surprise and concern.
At stake are approximately 25,000 jobs and $155 million for a community fund that will be used to pay for education, job training and to try to prevent displacement after the construction of Downtown West. These benefits will only become apparent once Google employees occupy offices on the downtown San Jose campus.
"Originally, we all knew it would be a long-term plan," said San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres, who represents the center. "But yeah, it's definitely concerning that a lot of the money will come when the cranes are in the air."
Nanci Klein, director of San Jose's department of economic development, confirmed to San Jose Spotlight that the $155 million for the community fund will not be awarded until Google has completed its offices. The company is also not legally required to build its campus.
However, Google has yet to say it plans to pause construction, and Klein said the company has already gone above and beyond what is normally required of companies building offices in the city.
"Google has continued to be an extremely dedicated and good partner to the city - they've moved on with the demolition and have already done what most developers don't, which is give up dollars before development takes place." Klein noted. "So Google is already doing more."
Regina Celestin Williams, executive director of the housing advocacy group SV@Home, is part of the 13-member commission that will decide how to distribute $155 million to the broader community. This fund is intended to offset economic effects, including a sharp increase in rents, likely to result from the Downtown West. A delay in the project could give the city more time to protect residents from displacement, he stressed.
The commission plans to hold its first meeting next month.
"Once they implement that project and enact this tremendous expansion of downtown San Jose, it will reshape the city," he told San Jose Spotlight. "We as advocates are primarily concerned with how it affects people who are already here."
A city within a city
Although Google has already paid San Jose $4.5 million and agreed to pay $15 million within 120 days of construction starting, the remaining money promised by the tech titan won't arrive until Googlers are working on the site.
Progress on projects the size of Downtown West, which spans about 80 acres and has been called "a city within a city," may slow or speed up as it reaches new phases of construction, an unnamed Google source told San Jose Spotlight. The company has not announced whether it plans to postpone construction, only that it is "reevaluating" its schedule.
San Jose Councilwoman Dev Davis said she was not surprised by Google's announcement. His district encompasses the entirety of the Downtown West project.
"We always knew that there was uncertainty about the benefits to the community and that the benefits to the community were largely tied to the actual project," Davis explained to San Jose Spotlight. "The great thing is that we know that Google is committed to San Jose, and they gave us community benefits, and we have dollars available that we can use."
The planned transformation of the Diridon Station area into the "Great Central Station of the West" remains a major incentive for companies like Google to build campuses downtown, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said.
“With the state recently completing funding for Caltrain electrification and adding $375 million to the BART extension to Silicon Valley, the case for Google to invest in Downtown West is stronger than ever,” Mahan added.
RJ Ramsey, a homeless advocate who is also on the commission, agreed that more time could allow Google to shape the project in a way that minimizes disruption to local communities.
Although some residents remain nervous about Google's imminent arrival downtown, the $155 million community fund will go a long way to allay concerns, Ramsey said.
"If the commission does its job, this should be beneficial for everyone in San José," he said. "Hey Google, take your time to get it right."
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