Google Arranges To Expand In Pittsburgh

Search giant will lease space at site of old Nabisco factory

Over the years, more than a few people have compared the Googleplex to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Now, fact and fantasy will come even closer to merging in Pittsburgh, as Google's decided to lease 40,000 square feet at the former site of a Nabisco plant.

For better or for worse, this development doesn't signal Google's entry into the candy/baked goods market. The site will play home to all sorts of retail and office space when a renovation is completed, and Google will set up its two floors (the top two in the building) as a fairly standard workplace.

Still, just about any expansion on Google's part is worth noting, and given the economy's recent contraction, this one stands out even more than usual. Plus, a change of physical surroundings isn't the only thing set to take place, since reports indicate that additional engineers will be hired. (An exact or even rough number remains unknown.)

Then here's one more important note: although Google's move will take it away from its current Pittsburgh base at Carnegie Mellon's Collaborative Innovation Center, the search giant and the school have effectively promised to stay friends.

Anyway, according to Erich Schwartzel, Google should settle into its new office sometime during the summer of 2010.

By Doug Caverly