Google opening office in San Diego

Google has signed a lease for nearly 60,000 square feet of office space in Sorrento Mesa, expanding its Southern California footprint into San Diego for the first time.

The Mountain View-based Internet search giant said it’s a tenant at 6420 Sequence Drive –— a four-story office building that’s part of the Verge complex. Building permits for tenant improvements were approved earlier this month for Google on the first and fourth floors, according to city records.

It’s the first time the tech titan has leased space in San Diego. A second building in the Verge is fully occupied by Arris Group, which makes routers and other digital communications gear.

Under traditional office layouts, a 60,000-square-foot office could house 250 to 300 workers — though tech companies often prefer less dense working conditions in hopes of retaining employees.

It’s unclear what work Google will focus on in San Diego. The company has many far-flung businesses and research projects, ranging from Internet search to YouTube to Android Auto.

The only local job listing on the company’s website is for a San Diego/Los Angeles based public affairs manager for Google Fiber, a high-speed Internet initiative. San Diego is one of several cities being considered for Google Fiber deployment.

In an email, the company declined to provide further details. The building owner — local real estate developer Cruzan — and brokers from CB Richard Ellis who worked on the deal couldn’t talk because of non-disclosure agreements.

"They could be here for a number of reasons," said Rory Moore, head of startup incubator EvoNexus and co-founder of Peregrine Semiconductor. "One is access to talent. They are saturated up there (in Mountain View) and the cost of living up there is insane."

Moore added that Google also may want to be closer to the telecommunications and genomics/data science expertise that is prominent in San Diego.

Mike Krenn, president of the San Diego Venture Group, said it’s his understanding Google would be hiring for “high-caliber engineering jobs."

"I think it's fantastic for San Diego," he added. "The more we have these brand-name tech companies here, the better it is for the macro environment."

In San Diego tech circles, companies sometimes complain that it’s difficult to recruit software engineers to the region because of fears that if the job doesn’t work out, they will have relatively few options locally.

Google might help ease those concerns, said Mark Cafferty, head of the San Diego Economic Development Corp.

"They have strategically gone into regions where they see talent that’s worth tapping into — both in terms of the companies that are there and the individuals who are there," said Cafferty.

Google has been opening outposts in Southern California for several years. It has a large facility in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, which launched about five years ago. In 2014, it opened a 91,000-square-foot office in Orange County near UC Irvine.

In Los Angeles, Google engineers work on products for Ads, Chrome and YouTube. It also has as a digital advertising team there, according to its website.

The Irvine office specializes in massive data storage, forecasting, inventory management, optimization and search. It also has engineering and sales teams for Google Analytics.

Last year, Google bought San Diego sensor technology start-up Lumedyne Technologies for about $85 million, according to several news reports. Lumedyne, which makes MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) sensors, occupies about 9,500 square feet in Kearny Mesa but began looking for a larger office late last year. Lumedyne did not respond to an email request for comment.

In 2012, Google purchased Nik Software, maker of a popular photo editing app for smartphones and tablets, for an undisclosed price. The deal aimed to give Google Plus users a larger suite of photo editing tools. Google shut down Nik Software after the deal.

"San Diego is known for its talented workforce so we’re a perfect fit for one of the world’s most innovative companies," said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. "Landing a heavy hitter like Google means we have one of the world’s largest companies contributing to our thriving innovation ecosystem."