Google and LinkedIn have recently struck a deal and have agreed to swap properties in Mountain View, California; a decision that could allow Google to build its futuristic new campus. Last year Google submitted a plan to the Mountain View City Council to develop four new building expansions in North Bayshore, designed by Danish architect Biarke Ingels. However, last year the proposal was not approved by the Mountain View City Council and instead, the Council awarded most of the North Bayshore property rights to LinkedIn. However, earlier this month, Google and LinkedIn have agreed to swap properties, allowing Google the possibility to expand its office space in North Bayshore to an additional 1.4 million square feet.
Google’s last year proposal for North Bayshore was to create a new futuristic campus and build “lightweight block-like structures which can be moved around easily”, as opposed to constructing immovable concrete buildings. According to the company’s initial blog post, Google “chose Mountain View […] 15 years ago” because the company likes “the beauty of the bay”, the “family-friendly environment”, and the fact that there are great universities in close proximity. With Google’s plans to expand further into North Bayshore, the company wanted to create office spaces that would provide not only “a great home for Google”, but that would “also work for the city that has given us so much”. Their plan was to create four new sites, each covered by “large translucent canopies” which would control the climate inside while allowing for light and air to pass through. The company’s vision was to “blur the distinction between our buildings and nature” by creating a campus with trees, cafes, landscaping, and “bike paths weaving through these structures”. But Google’s proposal was denied by the Mountain View City Council because the council apparently wanted to maintain diversity in Mountain View’s business footprint, and thus, most North Bayshore property rights have been passed along to LinkedIn.
However, following the new deal between Google and LinedIn, the latter will acquire two properties of Google totaling 460,000 square feet, as well as two building leases in Sunnyvale California, formerly used by Palm Computing as their headquarters. On the other hand, Google will acquire a 370,000 square-foot building from LinedIn, as well as the company’s development property in North Bayshore, accounting for 1.4 million square feet of new office space already approved by the Mountain View City Council. Aside from swapping their properties, LinkedIn had to pay an additional $331 million to Google, while the search engine giant had paid LinkedIn $215 million.