Facebook radically reshapes village plan
Facebook has dramatically revised its sweeping vision to create a new village near its headquarters in Silicon Valley, a plan that will greatly reduce the amount of the project’s office space and regional traffic impacts, the social networking giant said Wednesday.
“We’re deeply committed to being a good neighbor in Menlo Park,” said John Tenanes, Facebook’s vice president of real estate. “We listened to a wide range of feedback and the updated plan directly responds to community input.”
Facebook’s new proposal for Willow Village calls for 1.25 million square feet of office space, down about 29 percent from the 1.75 million that was envisioned previously for the ambitious Menlo Park development, which is located a short distance from the tech titan’s headquarters.
The reduced office square footage also means that 2,550 fewer office workers than previously anticipated would be working at Willow Village when it is completed.
Under some previous models for employee-office-space ratios, Facebook could have employed 9,000 to 10,000 workers at the new Willow Village. Now, the employment levels are more in the range of 7,000 workers, as a result of the modified plan.
Menlo Park-based Facebook expects that the new Willow Village will feature offices, homes, shops, restaurants, a grocery store, pharmacy, hotel, public parks, trails, and open spaces.
“Our conversations with neighbors, city council members, and planning commissioners have been critical to ensure Willow Village is part of the solution to many of the challenges our community faces,” said Mike
Ghielmetti, principal executive with Signature Development Group, the developer of the new village.
For three years, the tech titan has been meeting with city officials, community leaders, and local residents to gauge how the company might develop Willow Village in a fashion that benefits the Belle Haven neighborhood as well as all of Menlo Park.
Facebook intends to re
place an outmoded industrial and warehouse park that hearkens back to a bygone era of Silicon Valley that featured suburban business complexes whose tech workers commuted alone in their vehicles.
Willow Village won’t be an isolated campus but instead is being fashioned so that it will blend into the adjacent neighborhoods. The development would sprout near the corner of
Willow Road and Ivy Drive in Menlo Park, just south of the company’s head offices at One Hacker Way.
As part of the new Willow Village, Facebook also aims to add a 2.1-acre elevated park over Willow Road that will be accessible to the public.
“The elevated park is designed to accommodate pedestrian walking trails, bicycle paths, gardens comprised of native drought-tolerant and adapted species, lawns areas, interpretive horticultural exhibits, seating areas, children’s
play areas, recreation areas, shading canopies, picnic areas, and public restrooms,” according to Facebook.
In addition to the existing workforce of 3,500 at the site, Willow Village could accommodate up to 3,450 more workers.
The original proposal from 2017 called for 1,500 housing units. But subsequently, Facebook proposed 1,735 housing units, of which 15 percent, or 260, would have been affordable.
Now, Facebook has ramped up the afford
able homes that will be in the development to 320 affordable residences, or nearly 20 percent of the total homes in Willow Village.
“The updated plan reflects community calls to balance jobs and housing, increase affordable housing, minimize traffic, connect to Belle Haven and deliver essential services faster, such as the full grocery store, pharmacy, and other neighborhood amenities,” Ghielmetti said.
With a smaller office footprint, Facebook expects to add a public visitor’s center, more open space that is accessible to the public, as well as flexible meeting, collaboration, and conference spaces.
Menlo Park’s city review process for Willow Village is expected to extend to mid-2021.
“Our investment in Willow Village is a testament to our continued partnership with the City and dedication to the surrounding neighborhood,” Tenanes said.