When Google unveiled plans for Downtown West, the project was pitched as the largest redevelopment effort in San Jose’s modern history.
The proposal called for a $19 billion mixed-use district anchored by a massive new Google campus near Diridon Station.
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Plans included:
7 million square feet of office space for as many as 25,000 employees
Nearly 6,000 housing units, including affordable housing
15 acres of parks and open space along the Guadalupe River
Retail, restaurants and hotels
Transit-oriented development around Diridon Station, which is expected to become one of the Bay Area’s largest transportation hubs with the future extension of BART and California High-Speed Rail.
City officials estimated the development would generate about $79 million a year in property taxes, along with additional revenue from construction taxes and development fees.
Gateway Plaza section of Google’s Downtown West transit village in downtown San Jose, showing public and open spaces near the historic San Jose Water Co. building along West Santa Clara Street, concept. (Google LLC) Google LLC
Supporters said the project would help transform San Jose’s downtown into a dense, walkable urban center.
“It was everything that urbanists dream of,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
But a decade after Google began assembling land for the project, the site remains largely empty — leaving many of the promises of Downtown West uncertain.