An Open Letter To Google’s Executives
Dear Google Executive Team:
Why doesn’t Google come to San Jose? The city is making plans to expand its convention center, and the 17-story Sobrato Building is up for sale again (you know, that beautiful, cobalt-blue building that sparkles in the sun).
What if the city offered to design the convention center expansion to Google’s specifications, and then offered Google first priority over its use? If Google were to buy or lease the Sobrato Tower (next to the convention center) Google could create its own high-profile complex within the center of America’s tenth largest city. Google would have everything: a huge amount of new office space, full access to an expanded convention center (don’t worry, we’ll make it “green”), hotels, restaurants, and entertainment!
Google and the city could work together to make the convention center expansion as “green and eco-friendly” as possible. The Sobrato Building, I mean, “Google Tower,” would also become an eco-friendly structure to the fullest extent possible.
What’s good for Google is good for San Jose, and vice versa. The citizens of San Jose would love to give Google “the keys to the city!” Come on down!
Footnote: I contacted Google’s press office in an effort to get information on Google’s current expansion plans. A Google spokesperson issued the following statement:
“The Bay Area is significant to Google in terms of the users, employees, advertisers and publishers we have there, as well as being a base for recruiting. We will always seek to acquire space as necessary to meet our needs.”
Dear Pete,
Thanks for the offer, but we will have to decline.
San Jose is the BEDROOM where we get a good night’s sleep.
Mountain View is the FAMILY ROOM where Sergey and Larry let us view the World Wide Web.
Santa Clara is the KITCHEN where Intel cooks up some delicious semiconductor recipes.
Palo Alto is the GARAGE where Dave and Bill tinkered and invented.
Sunnyvale is the DINING ROOM where we feast on sweet technology from Ariba, Yahoo and Juniper.
Cupertino is the BASEMENT where Steve and the other cool kids of Apple hang out.
Together we are the house of Silicon Valley.
This is actually a good idea, but rather than downtown it would be better for San Jose and Santa Clara County if Google moved to the 180 acre Reid-Hillview airport site. This would be a tremendous improvement for East San Jose, and generate much needed tax revenue for the county.
As Google employees, and other employeees at the new Hillview High-Tech campus, move into the neighborhood, we can expect crime to go down, while school scores increase. Additionally, these employees can walk or bicycle to their jobs, and light-rail is being built down Capitol Expressway for other commuters.
All in all, a win-win-win-win for East San Jose, San Jose, Santa Clara County, and Google.
#9- That’s just it. Ther ARE plenty of affordable homes all over San Jose but for some reason they aren’t good enough for high tech workers.
No. This whole push for more “affordable housing” is all about the lobbying power of developers, and all the naive, “progressive” politicians and social activists are their unwitting allies.
You’re a little late:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/19/DDJN10MFKV.DTL
Mr. Campbell,
Love your idea. However, I think all of the hot shot companies of Silicon Valley prefer to have their conventions up the road at Moscone Center. (I love San Jose and hate the arrogance of SF, so it was extremely painfull to have to say that). By the way, no more Peter Magowan after October! Perhaps my dream of watching America’s pastime under the warm downtown San Jose Sun isn’t to farfetched after all…stay tuned! (Mr. McEnery, make it happen!)
Can the “Party Jet” fly into SJC late at night?
First things first, after all.
Why is San Jose so insecure? And why doesn’t this insecurity make San Jose a better city? I’ll just stick to downtown, though I could write a book talking about the city as a whole. The traffic congestion is horrible. While driving on Santa Clara St., one can’t get from 87 to Fourth St. within 10 minutes. Not to mention, driving this stretch on a Saturday night can cause a panic attack. If Santa Clara St. weren’t an issue, what is the deal with the single lane one way streets that go through the heart of downtown? Oh yeah, that’s right the city wants one to realize that it’s too inconvenient to drive these streets, so one should default to Light Rail. But years ago, the city and VTA forgot that putting Light rail above ground makes taking it even more inconvenient than driving. And why did they make this decision—because digging a tunnel was “too expensive.” Does the city ask itself if it should reverse course, and dig a tunnel for light rail, correcting its mistake? No. It wants to spend eight hundred times more than the Light Rail project that was “too expensive” on BART. So given all these mistakes, what is the city’s fix all? Oh yeah, it’s that behemoth Redevelopment Agency. If a speck of dust gets on a downtown building, the City Council calls a special meeting to pour gazillions from Redevelopment’s slush fund into cleaning up the building, as if the building’s facade is the reason San Jose is less than… So given all these mistakes, it’s no wonder San Jose can barely lure a Jack in the Box downtown. And now this writer has the gall to invite Google to come to San Jose.
San Jose—its people and its elected officials—needs to realize this city is what it is. San Jose needs to stop comparing itself to New York, San Francisco, or other metropolises. It needs to stop thinking of novel ideas, only to come up short because it doesn’t have the resources or rather, what is more often the case, the political will to see them to fruition (This will undoubtedly be the case with BART as San Joseans will see VTA’s current plans come up short.). San Jose needs to think of realistic projects, projects that are for the benefit of the entire community, not just the latest company that Mr. Reed and Mr. Mavrogenes are trying to lure to San Jose. This is the only way San Jose will find its true identity, and find its way out of a state of insecurity.
#3 It’s never too late. Google acquired Doubleclick (based in Chicago) they could transfer that whole group here.
#5 Not only will the “Party Jet” be allowed to fly into SJ International late at night, they will be permitted to park their plane wherever they’d like. (including runways).
Google is fashionable, full of big-headed hipsters that pine for the fog and filth up north. Let them leave. Once they take over the world like the internet’s own Wal-Mart, the trendies will be begging for them to go back.
So would San Jose have to build more “affordable housing” for the employees of Google?
If so, we don’t want them.
#8
There is plenty of affordable homes for sale in East San Jose.
#12 – Your post really does not make very much sense.
I can`t imagine Google employees walking or riding their bikes to work in that neighborhood, day or nite.
Why not? I have lived there for 18 years without any problems.
The 101 is impacted now during commute hours without the addition of all the Google employees…
101 is impacted northbound. Developing RHV as a high-tech campus will help reduce the northbound commute by getting some 101 traffic off the road sooner than by having it continuing onward to Mountain View. Even more important, other traffic will be using the reverse (southbound) commute on 101. This section is virtually traffic free.
The same applies to Capitol Expressway. Traffic coming to a high-tech campus at RHV will be using the reverse commute side, which is virtually traffic free.
To that add the additional family members that would be driving to work on 101. Can you imagine the back up on Aborn Road with cars waiting to get on and off 101.
This makes no sense at all. What is the differance between whether an employee of a high-tech campus is living in an East San Jose home, or someone else is living in that same home? If anything, it would reduce traffic by having jobs in the neighborhood, and those employees living in the neighborhood.
#12
the VTA general Manager is recomending the cancellation of the Light Rail Extension to that area and instead, building BART to the East Bay from San Jose.
One point I omitted in #13 was that the reason why VTA will probably cancel this link is that the cost is high while the ridership figures are projected to be low. I can agree with this logic, although I do not agree with BART to San Jose (another thread).
Anyway, the point is, if Reid-Hillview were developed as a high-tech campus then Light Rail down Capitol Expressway would be a very useful mass transit tool. This would probably be one of the more heavily used Light Rail lines if jobs were at RHV.
Of course, the county would also be much better off by developing RHV since the new businesses would be providing tens-of-millions, if not hundreds-of-millions, in new tax revenue. That is not counting any sales tax increase from these employees shopping at Eastridge Mall, or the increase in property tax revenue from appreciating property values in East San Jose.
And, San Jose’s jobs to homes ratio will improve by developing RHV, which will result in more tax revenue for San Jose to use in other areas.
#2,
Dream on! It might work if San Jose was to build a “Great Wall” around the 180 acre Hillview High-Tech Campus, but where would we get the San Jose Police to protect the wall ?
I can`t imagine Google employees walking or riding their bikes to work in that neighborhood, day or nite.
Traffic conjestion,“the VTA general Manager is recomending the cancellation of the Light Rail Extension to that area and instead, building BART to the East Bay from San Jose.
How long do you think the Google employees would put up with the “grid lock” on U.S. 101 during commute hours.The 101 is impacted now during commute hours without the addition of all the Google employees that it would take to staff a 180acre campus at Reed-Hillview.To that add the additional family members that would be driving to work on 101. Can you imagine the back up on Aborn Road with cars waiting to get on and off 101.
I know VTA believes that by building BART from San Jose to the East Bay we will solve all our traffic problems on U.S.101 and other grid locked freeway`s.
Google families buying homes in that area ? I don`t think so.
#12
I agree with you, the sale of the Reed Hillview Property and it`s development into a HighTech Campus would benefit both the City and the County and should be done. I was just being a cynic or expressing skepticism.
To see this project work we must get our leaders to hire more police officers, develop a comprehensive transportation for the City and County. We need to extend the Light Rail to the area. We need to fix our grid lock problems on our freeways especially on U.S. 101 in this area during commute hours. We need Express Light Rail, that doesn`t have to make as many stops as our present Light Rail System does.Can you imagine an overhead Express Light RailSystem all along U.S.101 movinmg at speeds of 65mph while traffis below creeps along the 101.
Watch the Light Rail along hwy 85 during morning commute hours, moving along at 65mph while traffic pokes along at 15 to 25mph along hwy 85.Can you imagine what a system like this would do for residents that travel along the 101 every morning and evening.
We need to get VTA`s attention first. BART to the east bay will not solve traffic on us 101,nor 280,87,85,and 237.BART will not solve our city and County grid lock problems.
Everything has to come together to make Reed Hillview a reality.