Walter Finch
GOOGLE’S plans to position Malaga as a new ‘Silicon Valley’ of the Med have triggered a surge in demand for luxury homes along the Costa del Sol, according to a leading developer.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Spain have opened a new office in Malaga city centre with the intention of developing 400 new luxury properties to serve the burgeoning tech sector amid Google’s announcement that it will build a cybersecurity ‘centre of excellence’ near the port of Malaga.
“The technological and cultural attractions, the climate, and above all the lifestyle have turned Malaga into a strategic key point for the real estate sector,” CEO Bruno Rabassa said in an interview with SER Málaga.
“The interest that North Americans are showing through the capital of Malaga is especially significant, which is quickly positioning itself as the Silicon Valley of Europe.
“In a short time the city will have to accommodate many displaced workers from large companies.”
Rabassa’s firm have already opened an office in Marbella, with plans to develop over 1,400 luxury properties along the Costa del Sol, foreseeing demand partly driven by Google’s development plans.
This week the California tech giants released new details on their ‘centre of excellence’ – which they will open next year – at the technology giant’s cybersecurity summit in Madrid.
The Google Safety Engineering Centre (GSEC) is being developed inside the shell of a historic building near the port of Malaga and is slated to open its doors to budding cybersecurity professionals in the second half of 2023.
And rather than just focus on the south-west corner of Europe, as originally thought, the Malaga centre will be a global hub ‘at the heart of the digital revolution’, according to Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer at Google.
“This is going to change the rules of the game: In 2023, Malaga will become our new Google Security Engineering Center, a global centre for cybersecurity and malware research,” he said.
Google released a slick video featuring some of the most iconic locations of Malaga, including the Pompidou Museum, the port and the cathedral, as part of their promotion for the new project.
Such a development will likely create an agglomeration effect, drawing a wider range of tech enterprises to Spain’s south coast, creating the new ‘Silicon Valley’.
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