Mayor Says Google Won't Get Subsidies, Tax Breaks For San Jose Campus
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Mayor Sam Liccardo says Google agreed to buy the land for its proposed San Jose campus for more than double what the city originally paid.
A move he hopes will quiet critics concerned the tech giant would be handed a sweetheart deal.
Mayor Liccardo said, "It's a stark contrast from what we're seeing all over the country where cities are falling over themselves to offer companies like Amazon and General Electric tens of millions of dollars to move their headquarters. In this case, Google never asked for any subsidies or tax breaks. And we never offered any."
Google will pay $67 million for nine properties near the SAP Center and Diridon train station.
The city originally bought the land for roughly $26 million, and will make a healthy, 157 percent return on their original investment.
Sacred Heart Community Center Executive Director Poncho Guevara said, "We need to do a better job of planning and making sure everyone is included in the mix. We need to make sure everyone has an opportunity to benefit from changes and growth and expansion."
Guevara says he worries Google's campus will be transformative but not in the way city leaders think.
He fears it will push small businesses and working families out of San Jose and believes any deal should have provisions addressing affordable housing, education and job creation.
Liccardo said, "We have a housing crisis today. It has nothing to do with Google. We had a housing crisis before Google ever made their announcement. We have to deal with that crisis today."
