Update: The new Google office will be primarily for the company’s advertising efforts.
The New York Times reports today that Google will open aresearch centeroffice in Ann Arbor, Mich. The center will have 1,000 employees, and Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm is expected to make the announcement this morning at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing.
The center is expected to open in Ann Arbor, where Google co-founder Larry Page earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.
The Times article says Google has been quietly searching for 240,000 square feet of office space in Ann Arbor. That search was documented in an Ann Arbor Business Review article in 2005.
Google is also building a huge facility in The Dalles, Ore., near the Washington border.
Competitor Yahoo has also been involved in real estate dealings recently. Earlier in July the company bought 42.5 acres in Santa Clara, Calif., for an undisclosed amount.
Microsoft is also growing and plans to spend $1 billion to expand its Redmond, Wash., office complex by 3.1 million square feet over the next three years.