Google plans to invest $1 billion to build thousands of homes and fight homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area, where skyrocketing housing prices have pushed people out of the market, the tech giant’s CEO announced Tuesday.
In a blog post, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will rezone about $750 million worth of land owned the Google and currently zoned for office or commercial use. The company then can support development of at least 15,000 homes “at all income levels,” Pichai wrote.
“We hope this plays a role in addressing the chronic shortage of affordable housing options for long-time middle- and low-income residents,” the CEO wrote.
The company also will establish a $250 million fund that can provide incentives for developers toward building an additional 5,000 affordable homes in the Bay Area, Pichai said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, on its Twitter account, welomed Google’s announcement.
Pichai said Google also will give $50 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that focus on homelessness.
“In the coming months, we’ll continue to work with local municipalities to support plans that allow residential developers to build quickly and economically,” Pichai wrote. “Our goal is to get housing construction started immediately, and for homes to be available in the next few years.”
