Google pledges $1 billion for housing

Google will spend $1 billion to address the Bay Area housing crisis, the tech company colossus announced Tuesday.

Google hopes its investment leads to 20,000 new homes in the Bay Area, according to CEO Sundar Pichai.

"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," Pichai said in a statement. "As Google grows throughout the Bay Area—whether it’s in our home town of Mountain View, in San Francisco, or in our future developments in San Jose and Sunnyvale—we’ve invested in developing housing that meets the needs of these communities. But there’s more to do."

Over the next 10 years, the Google plan calls for re-purposing at least $750 million of Google’s land, most of which is currently zoned for office or commercial space, as residential housing.

"This will enable us to support the development of at least 15,000 new homes at all income levels in the Bay Area, including housing options for middle and low-income families," Pichai said.

Google will also establish a $250 million investment fund to provide incentives to enable developers to build at least 5,000 affordable housing units across the region.