Image courtesy of Google.
Last week, officials approved the plan for Google’s mixed-use development, for which KPF is part of a world-leading architecture and planning team.
Located in the heart of California’s third-largest city, Downtown Westwill transform 80 acres of land near Diridon Station, a multi-modal transportation hub, to include up to 7.3M square feet of office space, 15 acres of public parks, open and green space, retail, and hospitality programming, as well as 4,000 housing units. The project takes inspiration from San Jose’s cultural and ecological roots, highlighting the city’s diverse identity and innovative spirit.
Downtown West was granted approval following years of planning and in-depth discussions with the community and housing advocates. Speaking to the civic engagement in the process, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said at Tuesday’s meeting, “rather than jump in one camp or another, community members pushed and prodded, and urged the city and Google to stretch and reach higher.” Alexa Arena, Google’s San Jose Development Director, stated, “together, we have created a foundation for an equitable and environmentally focused place that represents the best of San Jose and Google.”
Downtown West builds off of the firm’s increasing presence in the Bay Area, including several KPF-designed projects such as Platform 16, an innovative, energy-efficient office complex that promotes quality of work life; South Almaden Boulevard, a high-end office building that prioritizes user comfort and flexibility. In San Francisco, 415 Natoma Street, the firm’s anchor office building within the new 5M development, recently topped out.
Read more about the project and approval process from CNBC here.