Two years ago, Facebook moved into its new location at Menlo Park California. Since then the company has been exploring many different projects. One of which includes a Real Life community located just across the road from the Facebook headquarters. This new community will include grocery shops, transport, housing and more. According to the Business Insider, the complex will be called "Willow Campus". This endeavor is a huge task and it is estimated that it will take about a decade to complete.
Facebook to build over 56-acre site
On Thursday, June 8, the company revealed its plans to the world.
Facebook wants to build a real-life community. This will include a new retail area, a grocery store, housing, hotels, and transport. The building will take place at Menlo Park in California. Facebook bought this property in 2015. It cost $400 million at the time but has the added benefit of being right across the road from the company building. This will help with traffic congestion in the area.
In total, the space will provide 1.6 million square feet of housing. This housing will be primarily used by Facebook employees. According to Business Insider, the endeavor will take about a decade to build. The initial phase of the building is estimated to be finished come 2021. After that, each subsequent step will be completed about every two years.
The public can live in this new Facebook community
While the idea behind this is to give Facebook employees a real life community, spaces will also be opened up to the public. Housing for the general public will be marketed at 15 percent lower than their original market price. While the company has already released pictures of what the ideal community will look like they have not yet received approval.
According to Recode, it could take about 2 years for their plans to be approved.
A Facebook spokesperson stated that they could not comment further on the project. However, the company has released a statement saying that they plan to get ahead of any potential complaints about the complex. They have stated that they will be working closely with local leaders and community members to create a beneficial community.
Facebook released a post online announcing "Willow Campus" to the world. In the video, one can see the plan that the company has in mind. This includes bridges linking estates, several parks and even its very own train station. Representatives have stated that the most important thing is to integrate "Willow Campus" with the existing community.
