New Campus: 'Google Isn't Coming To Boulder, Google Is Staying In Boulder'
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Work is underway on Google's new campus in Boulder, and with it will come hundreds of jobs.
The campus is being built at 30th and Pearl streets just a few blocks away from Google's current office. The expansion will allow the company to more than quadruple in size.
In just a couple years the Boulder Google campus could be a hub of technology and innovation.
"Google isn't coming to Boulder, Google is staying in Boulder … with a great group of Boulder employees," Scott Green with Google Boulder said at the groundbreaking.
Google has been in Boulder since it acquired a local start up in 2006. Now the company is laying down roots even deeper. Right now Google Boulder employs about 350 people, but with its new building at 30th and Pearl they hope to grow that number up to 1,000, and then 1,500.
"It's a natural match made in Heaven," Gov. John Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper and Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum both attended the groundbreaking and applauded the company's investment in the Boulder community.
"It's not just about economic development," Appelbaum said.
"Googles impact on Colorado is already over $2 billion a year," Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper says that it's a win-win because Google's presence in Colorado raises Boulder's profile in the tech world.
"It attracts other companies, it attracts entrepreneurs, and it also compels local businesses to stay and grow here," he said.
By growing numbers, the company invests in its local youth.
"Their real interest is schools … making sure there's enough engineering and math students that they can get their workforce in the future," Hickenlooper said.
Pending building permits, construction could start as early as this summer with a finishing date of early 2017.
