Facebook reveals plans for its own town

Facebook is now so big that the social media goliath plans to build its own town in California’s Silicon Valley.

According to a post on the company’s blog last week, Facebook plans to develop the Menlo Science and Technology Park that it bought in 2015, and turn it into an all-encompassing township, with housing, a shopping centre, offices, a pharmacy, other community facilities and more public transport.

The housing component will include 1500 units to be built on-site, with Facebook pledging to offer 15% of them at below market rates.

Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates

The new precinct is being called “Willow Campus”, and it’s location means some Facebook employees will need only to cross the street in order to get to work.

Shops, housing, offices and retail will form part of the new complex.

In the blog post, Facebook vice president of global facilities and real estate John Tenanes says the village is intended to offer more affordable housing alternatives for the company’s workers, with prices in California’s Bay Area soaring astronomically in recent years.

“Working with the community, our goal for the Willow Campus is to create an integrated, mixed-use village that will provide much needed services, housing and transit solutions as well as office space,” Tenanes says.

Facebook’s “Willow Campus” will include new public spaces.

“Part of our vision is to create a neighbourhood centre that provides long-needed community services. We plan to build 125,000 square feet of new retail space, including a grocery store, pharmacy and additional community-facing retail.”

Facebook says it will file plans for the development with Menlo Park later this month, and will then take its proposal to local government and community organisations as part of a two-year review process.

“We envision construction will follow in phases, with the first to include the grocery, retail, housing and office completed in early 2021, and subsequent phases will take two years each to complete,” Tenanes says.