Facebook gets approval to build plush second campus
Designed by famous architect Frank Gehry and accepted by Menlo Park's city council, the social network's additional campus will look like a tree-covered park.
Menlo Park's city council has officially given Facebook the go-ahead to break ground on its swanky second campus.
The council voted 4-0, with one member absent, to let the social network build its 433,555-square-foot building that was designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, according to the Mercury News.
"Congratulations," Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki told Facebook officials yesterday, according to the Mercury News. "Where's the 'Like' button?"
It was revealed in August 2011 that the social network had plans to build a second campus. The site is located next to its current Menlo Park campus and is on 22 acres of land. It could accommodate up to 3,400 additional staffers.
Facebook unveiled the design of its sprawling, rooftop-gardened campus expansion in August. Gehry, the man behind the famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the more recent, Bilbao-like Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, presented Facebook with the tree-covered campus design. In addition to the rooftop garden, the building boasts eco-friendly construction and an underground tunnel to the current campus.
"Our intent is that it almost becomes like a hillside, with the landscape really taking the forefront," Gehry's creative partner Craig Webb told the city council yesterday, according to the Mercury News.
The social network is also planning a major headquarters expansion. Menlo Park's city council approved Facebook's plans last April, but construction hasn't started yet. To get approval for the expansion, the company said it will supply the city with a number of benefits and also make a one-time payment of $1.1 million for city capital improvement projects, as well as a $500,000 donation to create a fund to serve residents in specific neighborhoods.