Google to invest $1 billion in San Francisco Bay Area housing

Google will invest $1 billion toward efforts to develop at least 15,000 new homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Across the region, one issue stands out as particularly urgent and complex: housing,” CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post. “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.”

The announcement comes as tech companies, especially Google and its parent company Alphabet, face increased pressure from local communities claiming their expansion encroaches on the Bay Area’s already-tight housing market and displaces long-time residents. The move could also be an attempt to preempt protests planned for the Alphabet shareholders meeting…