Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the company’s biggest commitment by far, a $1 billion investment over the next 10 years to build some 20,000 units of housing.
The investment aims to help housing, which prices have skyrocketed in recent years due to the influx of highly paid technology employees. News headlines have depicted that high incomes have resulted in limited supply of homes in the Bay Area, creating competition that can only be afforded by the affluent, a group increasingly dominated by tech workers, while people employed in other lines of work have to leave the area or continue to struggle.
The San Francisco region is the most expensive housing market in the United States.
“Across the region, one issue stands out as particularly urgent and complex: housing. The lack of new supply, combined with the rising cost of living, has resulted in a severe shortage of affordable housing options for long-time middle and low income residents,” said Pichai in a written statement.
According to the official Google blog post, the new commitment includes:
- $750 million worth of the company’s existing office space, which Google will convert into an estimated 15,000 units
- $250 million toward “incentives” for other developers to build 5,000 units of affordable housing
- $50 million to nonprofits that help the homeless find shelter
“For several months, we have encouraged Google to make a bold commitment to address our region’s affordable housing challenge,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement applauding the company’s $1 billion pledge.
Google wants to get the housing construction started immediately and completed in the next few years.
Microsoft also has plans to invest $500 million in affordable housing in Seattle. Wells Fargo, which is headquartered in San Francisco, has also pledged to spend $1 billion over the next five years to support affordable housing.
