Google Begins Moving Into Spruce Goose Hangar In Playa Vista

Google has officially landed in the Spruce Goose hangar in Playa Vista.

The Mountain View-based search giant moved into its new Southern California home in Playa Vista last week, according to local reports.

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, signed a 16-year lease to occupy the four-building, 319K SF former home of the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes’ Hercules H-4 plane. Google, which signed the lease two years ago, converted the former hangar into creative office space. The company also owns an adjacent 12 acres that were purchased for $120M in 2014. 

The Ratkovich Co. and Penwood Real Estate Investment Management had owned the hangar and other buildings since 2010 before selling the properties to Japanese investor ASO Group for a reported $300M in 2016.

Google’s arrival highlights the continuing tech growth of the Silicon Beach area — Santa Monica, Playa Vista and Venice. 

Along with Google, Facebook is reportedly nearing an agreement to expand its presence in Playa Vista. The social media company has been in discussions with Tishman Speyer to lease 260K SF at the Brickyard office campus, The Real Deal reports.

With so many tech companies in the area and more coming, office and multifamily rents are expected to go up.