LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) has grabbed a major chunk of 1.5 million square feet space in Mountain View, while Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has got only 500,000 square feet. In a decision taken by the Mountain View City Council on Tuesday, this move is a major setback to the expansion plans of Google. The allotted space is only enough to build one of the proposed buildings of the company. On the other hand, this has come as a victory for LinkedIn that promised to preserve business diversity. The company already had a 400,000 square feet area on lease that is available till 2024.
Jim Morgensen, vice president of LinkedIn’s global workplace services said that the new land would help them develop an adequate work space. Also, it would save the company from the burden of paying leases and save their money. The Shoreline Commons project of LinkedIn is a modest project that the city council weighed over Google. This is because Google already has a large part of the area under its hold.
Thumbs Up to LinkedIn
Building a permanent headquarter will create a sustainable mixed-us community destination and the company looks forward to working with the City Council and the community for the development of their project. The company has got only 12% less of the proposed space and this is definitely a good sign for them.
Google’s real estate VP, David Radcliffe, was visibly upset and said that this was a significant blow for the company. But even though the 3.2 million square feet campus of Google has not seen light of day due to the recent move, the company does not view it as the end of the world. They would now focus on rebuilding their existing facilities or just let it be for the time being.
City Council Move to Battle Housing Crisis
The booming economy of the region has led to burgeoning land prices in the housing sector of Mountain View and the average house value is around $1.23 million. Even the average rent is around $4000 now.
Radcliffe said that making the decision was tough for the City Council and thanked them for their time and support. He said that Google would continue to work with Mountain View on the company’s future.
