Google has already begun to demolish buildings in a formerly industrial part of town to clear the way

 Google has already begun to demolish buildings in a formerly industrial part of town to clear the way

 for the first phase of its new transit-oriented neighborhood, which will consist of office buildings, homes, shops, restaurants, hotel facilities, open spaces, cultural attractions and entertainment hubs.

The search giant intends to employ up to 25,000 people in the transit village, officially known as Downtown West, near the Diridon train station and SAP Center.

Ahead of the full-fledged start of construction, Google will build an array of infrastructure, including water and sewer lines that are a prerequisite for the first phase of the company’s new neighborhood. Google also plans to build a green energy plant to serve the ambitious development.

Big office building projects can easily take 24 to 27 months — potentially more than two years — to be completed, easily taking the completion dates to early or mid-2026. Such a timeframe is so distant that no analysts can credibly predict the conditions for the Bay Area economy or the tech sector at that point.

In recent days, Google completely demolished a building at 140 South Montgomery St. where a vendor of industrial gases had operated for decades. Across the street, the demolition of the old Sunlite Bakery Bread Depot building at 145 South Montgomery St. is well underway. A Google contractor has completely removed the back half of the building.