DETROIT – Google Inc. is in the market for new high-tech space in the suburbs. Sources say the Internet giant has been scouting for locations of at least 30,000 square feet for R&D space related to autonomous vehicles, Crain’s Detroit News reported Friday.
The locations that have been considered so far include Southfield, Troy and Farmington Hills.
Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., leased about 90,000 square feet in the 696 Centre building in Farmington Hills last year, shortly after announcing it would be moving into about 140,000 square feet of space outside downtown Ann Arbor.
The move by Google may be influenced by Michigan’s autonomous vehicle testing sites, including MCity and University of Michigan and the state’s plan to transform the more than 380-acre former General Motors Willow Run Powertrain plant into a national test site for autonomous and connected vehicles.
News reports in the last couple of weeks say Google is likely to make Ann Arbor a test city for its self-driving cars. The company recently advertised to hire a project manager for self-driving vehicles in the city.
Jeff Bell, the CBRE Inc. senior vice president of office services who often represents Google locally, declined to comment.
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