Google May House Startups in San Francisco’s Historic Latino Community

The city's Mission District continues to be Ground Zero for tech-driven gentrification.

By Jamilah King Feb 17, 2014

What’s worse than a Google Bus? Try a new Google office that houses startups in San Francisco’s Mission District, the longtime home of the city’s Latino community.

According to the Venture Capital Post:

 The former office of newspaper and catalogue printer Howard Quinn is big enough to accommodate 200 people. Located on 298 Alabama Street, the printer had been in business for half a century when it closed in 2012. The increasing popularity of online publishing, fueled by the technology of the search company, has proven to be very detrimental to printers, the report said.

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Hardware firms could utilize the site for gadget and device development since the building which was constructed in the 1920s is zoned for manufacturing. With the leasing of the space, Google could be thinking of acquiring more startups focused on making hardware as it grows from web search and dips its hand into other markets like wearable technology, robotics and the Internet of Things, the report said.

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The move highlights the growing trend of Internet firms in Silicon Valley where a fierce competition for tech talent has led them to expand in San Francisco so they can lure new employees who don’t want to commute to Mountain View, Palo Alto and Cupertino, the report said.

The Mission has long been a hotbed of displacement for the city’s Latino residents thanks to widespread evictions and gentrification. Case in point: the average rent for a one-bedroom in the Mission is more than $2,700.

(h/t Mission Local)