Australian developer to build 15,000 US homes for Google

Lendlease to transform tech giant’s landholdings into mixed-use sites worth USD15 billion

Google has partnered with Lendlease to masterplan, entitle and develop three of its landbanks in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Australian development giant announced Thursday.

A joint agreement with the tech and search giant would see Lendlease build new neighbourhoods in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Mountain View with a combined area of up to 15 million square feet. The sites are expected to yield 15,000 homes.

Google chose Lendlease for its “wealth of knowledge and expertise” in residential, retail, and mixed-use developments, according to David Radcliffe, who serves as vice president for real estate and workplace services at Google.

“Today’s agreement expands on an existing and successful partnership that will help us deliver on two important objectives: our commitment to accelerate the production of residential units in the Bay Area, and our plan to build mixed-use developments,” Radcliffe said in a statement.

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Apart from residential properties, the sites will have retail, hospitality, and other related components. Google will concentrate on the development of its office spaces.

“This joint agreement between Google and Lendlease will help address the need for new housing in the San Francisco Bay Area,” Denis Hickey, CEO for the Americas at Lendlease, said in a statement.

“We’re eager to contribute our world-class approach to creating unique urban communities, and we are focused on delivering outstanding places that redefine how people choose to live, work, connect and contribute to creating an active community.”

The partnership between Google and Lendlease will last the next 10 to 15 years, with development work set to begin in 2021, subject to planning approval.