MENLO PARK, California – With billions of online users all over the world, US social media giant Facebook is now planning to create a community in the real world.
The company wants to build housing, retail stores, a hotel and more at its corporate headquarters.
The 56-acre site, which Facebook bought in 2015 for about $400 million, is located directly across the street from Facebook’s headquarters at Menlo Park, California.
It will offer 1.6 million square feet of housing, or 1,500 units.
The housing will be a mix of market rate and affordable housing units, with 225 units, or 15%, priced below market rate.
In a blog post announcing the plans, Facebook described the future development as a “mixed-use village” that will provide residents, many of which will be Facebook employees, with housing, transportation services and other amenities.
“We plan to build 125,000 square feet of new retail space, including a grocery store, pharmacy and additional community-facing retail,” Facebook said.
The initial phase of the project, which will include the housing and grocery store, will be wrapped up in the first half of 2021. The subsequent phases will be completed every two years, according to a blog post on Facebook’s website.
While Facebook has presented the plans to the City of Menlo Park, they have not yet been approved. The company expects the approval process to take about two years.
