Facebook Plans To Build Entire Town Near Silicon Valley Headquarters

Facebook reportedly plans to build an entire town called Willow Park near its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

The project, partnered between the social networking giant and Oakland, CA-based company, Signature Development Group, will reportedly consist of 1,729 apartments, a supermarket, a pharmacy, retail, as well as 1.25 million square feet of new Facebook office space housing roughly 7,000 employees.

Willow Park would also feature several landmarks, including an elevated park similar to New York City’s Highline and a modern office building for employees with a large glass dome.

Facebook reportedly shared that the town will allocate 120 units of senior housing and 320 units for affordable housing.

Facebook dramatically reshapes plan for village
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Willow Village near Facebook’s Menlo Park HQ undergoes sweeping changes for office space@Facebook #Facebook #cre #tech #development #office #housing #realestatehttps://t.co/7ZA2xD0hHL pic.twitter.com/z8NnBy3WBz

— George Avalos reporter (@georgeavalos) May 22, 2020

“We’re deeply committed to being a good neighbor in Menlo Park,” John Tenanes, Facebook’s VP of real estate, stated to The Mercury News last year. This is in response to community concerns that there will be more offices than adequate housing available. “We listened to a wide range of feedback, and the updated plan directly responds to community input.”

Some have disputed that the company is living up to the current practice of company towns and that yet another high-tech development would overshadow housing needs, even if it includes some set-asides for the community.

“They’re doing more than most companies, but most of what they do serves them,” Patti Fry, former chairwoman of the Menlo Park City Planning Commission, told The New York Times. “They’re in business to be in business.”