Google WA
On Thursday, April 21, 2022, our Kirkland next door neighbor, GOOGLE held a special event to announce their investment plans in Washington state for the year 2022.
Paco Galanes, Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet, Governor Jay Inslee, and Congresswomen Suzan Delbene
Kristian Uri’s fellow Kirkland Chamber of Commerce board member, Ian Goodhew of Google Kirkland, introduced Paco Galanes , the Google Kirkland Urban project manager who told of Google’s commitment to Washington state.
Paco said they were doubling down in their investments in the United State - $90.5 billion dollars in Google office space and data center capital investment, resulting in 12,000 new jobs and their 2021 economic impact was $33 billion.
In their Kirkland Urban campus, they have 760,000 square feet of office space and will be opening their South Tower in 2024; East Tower in 2025. Further, they are developing the Lee Johnson Kirkland property.
Across the lake in Seattle, they have an additional 900,000 square feet of office space in the South Lake Union technology core. Over 15 years they’ve brought 7,200 full time employees to the region. Those employees have donated $116 million in charity and provided 129,000 hours of donated time.
Governor Jay Inslee
Paco Galanes introduced Washington State Governor Jay Inslee who congratulated GOOGLE for their 100% clean energy by 2030 commitment. He said that Google had provided a template for performance for corporate America.
On behalf of the State of Washington and the Inslee family - including his four grandchildren, he thanked Google for their performance and dedication - as a result he said their will be ‘samon in our rivers’ and ‘snow in our mountains.’
“Do it the Google way and the State of Washington is going to continue to grow”
Congresswomen Suzan Delbene
Governor Inslee introduced Congresswomen Suzan Delbene who said Google had answered her congressional challenge and continued to support the transformation of STEM to STEAM where the ARTS are added to the mix. Learning to learn and continuing to learn throughout one’s life - things that Google helps all of us do - a goal of constantly learning.
Representative Delbene then introduced Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet
Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet
Mayor Sweet joined the stage and proclaimed that Kirkland is the best place in America to live, work, and play - all within walking distance. The City will continue to do so because of companies such as Google and their Green and Sustainable initiatives.
Together with the Kirkland Chamber, Google provided Small Business Grants to help independent businesses weather the COVID pandemic.
“Google provides a world-class workplace for their employees to live, work, and play”
