The aging Menlo Science and Technology Park was slated for redevelopment into 1.6M SF of office, retail, multifamily and hospitality space.
Meta is pumping the brakes on its proposed mixed-use megaproject spanning 1.6M SF in Menlo Park.
The Willow Village project was placed on hold due to changing market conditions and reduced space requirements for prospective tenants, property owner and Meta affiliate Peninsula Innovation Partners said in a statement.
Willow Village was slated to replace the aging Menlo Science and Technology Park. Meta purchased the 21-building campus on 56 acres at 1350-1390 Willow Road from Prologis in 2015.
Development plans for Willow Village called for up to 1.25M SF of office space, 200K SF of retail and 1,730 multifamily units, 312 of which would have been income- or age-restricted housing units.
Willow Village also was to include a 193-room hotel and 3.5-acre park. Due to its proximity to Meta’s headquarters, the project called for an underground tunnel to ferry trams, cyclists and pedestrians to Meta’s 57-acre east and 22-acre west campuses.
“The decision to place Willow Village on hold was difficult,” Peninsula Innovation Partners spokesperson Adam Alberti said in the press release. “While the plan reflects a genuine vision for community-based development, the current real estate market and a shift in space requirements make advancing a project of this type and scale unworkable at this time.”
The Meta affiliate will work with the city of Menlo Park to determine next steps relating to the project’s existing applications and regulatory processes.
Menlo Park city officials stated that the development agreement between Peninsula Innovation Partners and Signature Development Group on behalf of Meta Platforms remains in effect and that they will review the company’s compliance with the terms of the development agreement during a May 18 planning commission meeting.
Meta’s decision to shelve its commercial real estate development plans in Menlo Park comes on the heels of an April 23 announcement that the social media giant would slash about 10% of its workforce, or around 8,000 positions, as it bolsters its investments in artificial intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Meta predicted that nearly 7,000 employees would have worked at the Willow Village project once it was completed, according to The Mercury News.
