Social media company’s elaborate new office plans move forward as pandemic-driven remote work remains tech norm
At noon today (Jan. 8), Facebook and Signature Development Group submitted plans to the city of Menlo Park laying out more details for their new Willow Village development, according to a statement from the developer.
The proposed development – slated to be the largest ever in Menlo Park – would replace a 59-acre campus of single-story offices and industrial spaces located at the corner of Willow Road and the Dumbarton rail line with an entirely new neighborhood.
The development would replace the Willow Road office park with 1,729 housing units, 1.25 million square feet of office space, a 193-room hotel, shopping space, including a grocery store, as well as a publicly accessible neighborhood park, elevated park area, dog park, and town square.
The new submissions include architectural drawings for all of the new buildings, which reveal a large glass dome planned for use as a collaborative area for Facebook workers, bordered by an elevated, landscaped path that would stretch over Willow Road and connect to the Belle Haven neighborhood. The path is intended to be similar to New York City’s High Line, offering easy pedestrian and bike access from Belle Haven across Willow Road and into the development, with publicly accessible views of the Bay.
The number of housing units is higher, while the square footage of the office space is lower than in earlier iterations of the proposal. Those changes were made in response to community input, Michael Ghielmetti, president of Signature Development Group, said in an interview.
Read the full article at The Almanac.