Google Signs 60-Year Lease with NASA for Moffett Airfield in California

Search engine giant Google Inc has reportedly signed a deal with NASA to lease and manage the space agency's Moffett Federal Airfield (MFA) in California for 60 years.

Planetary Ventures LLC, Google's real estate subdivision, will be leasing Hangar One, Two and Three, a flight operations building, two runways and a golf course from NASA. Apart from that, it will also be rehabilitating the historic hangars.

NASA said the deal will help the space agency save $6.3 million in annual maintenance costs and Google is expected to pay $1.16 billion in rent over the 60-year period.

The lease is a win-win deal for both NASA and Google. The web giant was in search of more space for experimental, research and development purposes and NASA wanted to cut down on maintenance costs of infrastructure.

"As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth. We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development and space exploration – not in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need. Moffett Field plays an important role in the Bay Area and is poised to continue to do so through this lease arrangement," Charles Bolden, administrator at NASA, said in a statement.

Google reportedly plans on spending $200 million on these properties including refurbishments of the hangars. The company also plans to create an educational centre for the public in the premises.

"We look forward to rolling up our sleeves to restore the remarkable landmark Hangar One, which for years has been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in the United States," David Radcliffe, vice-president of real estate and workplace services at Google Inc, added in the statement.

There is no information as to when Google will take over the premises and the tech firm will need to comply with all tenancy rules including environmental compliance.

Google and NASA were reportedly in talks of a lease deal since February this year. According to Fortune, Google had earlier signed a deal to build a new office complex in the premises, but those plans were put on hold probably because they were waiting to manage the rest of the 42-acre facility.

The new lease gives Google a major foothold in the North Bayshore area of California. It has already taken up offices and other properties in Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale, covering most parts of the region. Last month, Google invested $585 million in six office buildings just northwest of its Silicon Valley headquarters.

Google is also expanding its footprint in New York City. It recently signed a lease to occupy 1,80,000 square feet of space at 85 Tenth Avenue in Manhattan.

"We expect to continue to hire aggressively for the remainder of 2014. Acquisitions will also remain an important component of our strategy," Google said in a filing, according to Bloomberg.