Google spends $100M for new Mountain View offices

Search giant Google has acquired a big office complex in Mountain View for $100 million, in its largest property purchase of 2011 in Silicon Valley. Google confirmed it bought The Landmark at Shoreline, a 240,000-square-foot office center, according to a report on the Contra Costa Times. "As we continue to hire it's important to find space for our new employees ... We look forward to incorporating it into our campus," said David Radcliffe, a Google vice president of real estate and workplace services. The Landmark is next to Google's main headquarters complex. The report cited current zoning rules would allow Google to fill the complex with 960 workers. Google paid $100 million for the cluster of two-story office buildings on Landings Drive near Charleston Road just north of U.S. Highway 101. An affiliate of realty investment firm Broadreach Capital Partners completed the sale of The Landmark to Google on Oct. 18, county property records show. 'Google is like Pac-man' This was Google's latest purchase in the area. In 2011, the firm has shelled out some $225 million for at least 15 properties in Mountain View, according to public documents and realty agents. "Google is like Pac-Man ... They are gobbling up everything in one corridor and then going up another corridor," said Jim Beeger, a senior vice president with realty brokerage Colliers International. Much of Google's expansion activity initially centered on properties north of Highway 101, followed by some sites south of 101. These properties on the other side of the freeway included low-slung research buildings on Terra Bella and a four-building complex a few blocks from Mountain View's downtown. In August, the company decided to move into Sunnyvale with the lease of a four-building project known as the Ariba Campus. "I haven't seen anything quite like this in Silicon Valley. Apple and Cisco have had some bursts of expansion. But they haven't taken this much space," Beeger said. Mountain View officials say Google's growth has bolstered the city's economy. "The Landmark deal not only solidifies Google's presence in Mountain View, but it also helps make Mountain View a center for innovation. Google is drawing in other companies, and innovation startups," said Ellis Berns, the city's economic development director. — TJD, GMA News