Google makes a $120M bet on LA, potentially expanding its presence in the region nine-fold
(Pando): http://pando.com/2014/12/04/google-makes-a-120m-bet-on-la-potentially-expanding-its-presence-in-the-region-nine-fold/ After months of rumors to the effect, the search and mobile giant has officially acquired 12 acres - the space is zoned for 900,000 square feet of commercial space - in Playa Vista, a coastal enclave immediately north of LAX. The cost of the deal? a cool $120 million. The new Google plot is adjacent to a famous hanger where Howard Hughes built his Spruce Goose airplane, a 70-year-old, 319,000 square foot, 2.5 football field-long building that Google is expected to also lease. Google already has a significant presence in the LA area, including a 41,000 square foot production studio dedicated to the vibrant local YouTube creator community, also in Playa Vista. But Google's LA HQ for the last several years has been limited to 100,000 square feet of combined space across three adjacent buildings in Venice, including the famed Frank Gehry-designed Binoculars Building. With its latest investment, and anticipated Hughes hangar lease, the company appears poised to grow its LA footprint nearly nine-fold. Google has similar large satellite offices in New York's Union Square and San Francisco' SoMa areas. - - - As a lifetime born and bred L.A. boy, I heartily approve. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy I am a consultant to Google -- I speak only for myself, not for them. Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com _______________________________________________ pfir mailing list http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
