At a press event last week, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and representatives for Google assured the community that the company remains committed to plans for its Downtown West project.
Google, and its parent company, Alphabet, had announced earlier in the winter that it was reevaluating the timeline for the project after first quarter earnings reports revealed the company was planning to exit leases for rented office spaces. Speculation as to whether the tech giant had abandoned Downtown West entirely surfaced last week when reporting by CNBC suggested that Google may not have plans to revive the project after construction had been halted. Demolition of existing structures has already taken place, presenting a conundrum for City officials interested in ensuring the downtown does not remain a construction site indefinitely.
At the press event, Mayor Mahan stated that “Google remains fully committed to San Jose in the long-term and San Jose is fully committed to Google.” The Mayor suggested that the project’s timeline may shift as the macroeconomic environment changes and reassured the public that the project was moving ahead. “Nothing has changed,” he said.
A spokesperson for Google indicated that its reassessment of Downtown West’s construction timeline is still on-going.
The Mayor and Google’s statements comes as the company has moved into two new leased office buildings in San Jose this week , according to local reports The move further solidifies the company’s San Jose growth plans despite the recent changes to Downtown West’s construction timeline.