Post by acptulsa on Jun 15, 2017 17:41:42 GMT -8
www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/14/googles-moffett-field-modular-apartment-plan-hailed-as-possible-housing-crisis-fix/
MOUNTAIN VIEW — With rental costs skyrocketing and homes out of reach for many, Google has hit on a solution that may help it attract workers to the crushingly expensive Bay Area.
The tech giant plans to buy 300 units of modular housing to serve as temporary employee accommodations on its planned “Bay View” campus at NASA’s Moffett Field, according to a source familiar with the plan.
Experts heralded the move as not only good for Google, but as a potential template for others to follow as the high cost of construction combined with expensive real estate make affordable housing hard to come by.
Google’s move with prefabricated units is seen as a small but promising step toward solving the region’s housing crisis.
“That’s definitely a really great start,” said Wayne Chen, city of Mountain View housing and neighborhood services manager. “Any time we can find innovative ways to address the housing crisis is an opportunity that we really welcome.”
1. Is it now illegal for a company to pay a living wage? Hell, forty years ago, before the dollar was reduced to the value of a nickel, even McDonald's paid a living wage. You could put a roof over your head and food in your mouth--and even buy car insurance--without federal assistance working at McDonald's full time. Now you work for Google and can't pay rent? Really?
2. I know Google is spying on us all and providing all that information to the federal government. But even so, how do they rate land from NASA? Can I build myself a house on NASA land without getting shot?
3. Is Google going to do the classic neo-slavery trick and raise rents every year? Are Google employees, in ten years, going to be singing, 'St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company landlord'?
MOUNTAIN VIEW — With rental costs skyrocketing and homes out of reach for many, Google has hit on a solution that may help it attract workers to the crushingly expensive Bay Area.
The tech giant plans to buy 300 units of modular housing to serve as temporary employee accommodations on its planned “Bay View” campus at NASA’s Moffett Field, according to a source familiar with the plan.
Experts heralded the move as not only good for Google, but as a potential template for others to follow as the high cost of construction combined with expensive real estate make affordable housing hard to come by.
Google’s move with prefabricated units is seen as a small but promising step toward solving the region’s housing crisis.
“That’s definitely a really great start,” said Wayne Chen, city of Mountain View housing and neighborhood services manager. “Any time we can find innovative ways to address the housing crisis is an opportunity that we really welcome.”
1. Is it now illegal for a company to pay a living wage? Hell, forty years ago, before the dollar was reduced to the value of a nickel, even McDonald's paid a living wage. You could put a roof over your head and food in your mouth--and even buy car insurance--without federal assistance working at McDonald's full time. Now you work for Google and can't pay rent? Really?
2. I know Google is spying on us all and providing all that information to the federal government. But even so, how do they rate land from NASA? Can I build myself a house on NASA land without getting shot?
3. Is Google going to do the classic neo-slavery trick and raise rents every year? Are Google employees, in ten years, going to be singing, 'St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company landlord'?
