Samsung unveils new headquarters in North San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) -- Tech giant Samsung plans to bring in 2,000 employees to its new American headquarters in North San Jose.
The company officially unveiled its state of the art campus Thursday.
It ranks as one of the world's largest tech companies and Samsung employees broke out in song and dance to cut the ribbon to its new headquarters in north San Jose.
The 1.1 million square foot campus has a 10-story tower that wraps around in a circle and designated "chill zone" where employees can lounge in massage chairs and sleep pods.
“With Samsung committing so much resource here, we want to be a tech magnet that's going to draw others to North San Jose,” said Scott Birnbaum, Samsung Electronics Vice President of LCD Business.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Samsung chose the North First Street location for its access to transit and since many of the company's employees already live in San Jose.
It’s a move he said that will pump millions of dollars to the city's bottom line.
We have big plans for North San Jose,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “More than 10 million square feet of commercial and office development are in the pipeline. We want to continue to bring those jobs and revenue to the city.”
However, with the vision of a new "Silicon Valley” urban center come mixed feelings.
“There was nothing here, just dirt and now to see the buildings come up and everything a lot more people walking around the street, it’s nice and it's lively,” said area resident Kyle Castro.
Castro grew up in the city's north side and lives in a mobile home park near the new Samsung headquarters. His excitement is tempered with concerns about high rent prices driving out families.
“I would love to stay in the area,” said Castro. “With all the new technologies going on it's definitely hard to try and stay in this area.”
Liccardo said he’s committed to protecting mobile home parks.
“We will be preserving those sites as well as trying to grow where we have the opportunity to do so,” said Liccardo.
The mayor said another major tech company will be announcing their consolidation and move to north San Jose in the next few weeks.