Samsung Semiconductor breaks ground on North San Jose mega campus
Samsung execs, city officials and state bigwigs turned out to "break ground" on the new… more
With a bit of ceremonial dirt thrown, Samsung Semiconductor Inc. officially kicked off construction of its high-profile North San Jose campus, and the company pulled out all the stops to let the world know.
Samsung just Tuesday pulled permits to begin early pile work on the 680,000-square-foot project, whose breathtaking design from architecture firm NBBJ has garnered international attention. A two year build-out awaits with general contractor Webcor running point, but on Wednesday top executives were all smiles as they thanked city and state officials for working to smooth the company's path. (See slideshow at right.)
"Although we've had a really great 30 years in Silicon Valley here, it is not enough," Samsung executive Charlie Bae told a crowd of hundreds who gathered in a massive tent set up for the occasion. (It was held on the site of the company's former home, a 1980s-era office park that was recently demolished.)
"I truly believe this new campus will provide the world's best convenience and comfort for our employees...In two years, I'd like to invite all of you here when we finish the buildings," he said.
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Our exclusive unveiling of Samsung Semiconductor's groundbreaking design
Samsung Semiconductor is a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which is the second largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. The company's headquarters here will house research and development and marketing, and its efforts show up in everything from Samsung phones and TVs to countless third-party products.
"This facility will play a very important role in expanding our R&D; capabilities in Silicon Valley," said OH Kwon, the vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics.
The start of construction marks a major milestone for the city, which worked with the state of California to keep the tech juggernaut in San Jose when it outgrew its existing home here. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed told me the project is "the largest single development event in North San Jose's history."
With Samsung also eyeing expansion in Austin, officials devised a package of incentives worth $7 million to keep its longtime hometown competitive, and approved the deal in March.
But Reed said the decision was also about the area's talent pool.
"They could go anywhere in the world, they have the money to go anywhere in the world, and they have chosen to stay right here in this site," Reed told attendees. "That's a great day for the state of California."
Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said the swift work on the deal shows the region can be business friendly.
"(Gov. Brown) has...been able to remove the perception that California is all about this," Guardino said, unravelling a roll of red tape. "He's replacing that perception with a red carpet."
San Jose says it will see about $23 million in new city revenues from the project. It has enough room for about 2,000 workers, up from a current head count of 300.
That planned growth drew a jovial warning from Cisco EVP Randy Pond, who also spoke at Wednesday's event.
"We're excited to have this kind of building in our neighborhood," Pond said. He added a bit later with a laugh: "I'll continue to be pleased if you don't recruit up and down Tasman Drive."
The project becomes the second massive corporate campus to break ground in recent months amid a boom in tech owner-user projects. Google is currently working on its Bayview campus on Moffett Field in Mountain View. Others are planned from Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. (And a new campus is well underway for LinkedIn in Sunnyvale, but the tech company is leasing it.)
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