Tech Giants Are Investing Millions in Housing Projects

Tech companies are moving forward with real estate development projects, ranging from housing to entire cities, in an effort to provide housing for employees, and enticed by tax credits.

Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook have already entered the housing market. Google recently won city approval to construct a new, 3.6 million-square foot development including housing, offices, shops, businesses, and a public park in Mountain View, California, Business Insider reports. In late 2017, Google parent company Alphabet announced its urban innovation unit, Sidewalk Labs, will design a high-tech neighborhood on Toronto's waterfront in a $1 billion project dubbed "Sidewalk Toronto".

From the renderings, it appears that Sidewalk Labs wants Quayside to be a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. The preliminary illustrations include bikeshares, apartment housing, bus lines, and parks. Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff, a former New York City deputy mayor, has spoken about how self-driving cars, embedded sensors that track energy usage, machine learning, and high-speed internet could improve urban environments.

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