https://n2v.almanacnews.com/square/print/2014/12/24/facebook-starts-developing-third-menlo-park-campus


Town Square

Facebook starts developing third Menlo Park campus

Original post made on Dec 24, 2014

Facebook is starting small when it comes to its third Menlo Park campus, located on Constitution Drive near the corner of Chilco Street and Bayfront Expressway.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, December 24, 2014, 10:20 AM

Comments

Posted by Edward Syrett
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Dec 24, 2014 at 9:31 pm

Edward Syrett is a registered user.

This sounds like great news for Menlo Park. It will keep the newly generated traffic away from downtown. Santa Cruz Avenue businesses are unlikely to see an uptick in activity, but there's room for commercial growth between Bayfront Expressway and US 101. In the long run, if and when politicians figure out how to activate commuter rail traffic across the existing span next to Dumbarton bridge, it would make all kinds of sense to put a station close to Facebook (or whatever enterprise is occupying those buildings at that time).


Posted by what's so good about it
a resident of Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park
on Dec 29, 2014 at 8:51 am

So nearly all of Bayfront Expy will be built out by a company that provides zero sales tax dollars to Menlo Park and offers so many amenities to its employees onsite (food, dry cleaning) that they don't need to patronize any Menlo Park businesses. Huge office projects downtown are still going through the approval process despite their bringing so much new rush hour traffic that they have had to do new EIRs within a couple years of the downtown specific plan's approval with its own EIR that predicted much worse traffic.
Now we'll have more traffic from Facebook and downtown and no sales tax dollars.
What's so good about this?


Posted by regional view
a resident of another community
on Dec 29, 2014 at 1:58 pm

That land could just as easily be in Redwood City, Palo Alto or Redwood City, and the traffic generated would be the same. Menlo Park could pass an ordinance to bulldoze every office building within the city limits... and traffic on Menlo Park streets would only continue to increase from vehicles visiting businesses in Palo Alto, Stanford and Redwood City. When the economy is booming, we always have more traffic, but eventually something incredible happens. People get out of their cars and use public transit. In some cases, people actually bike to work.


Posted by Robert
a resident of Menlo Park: Felton Gables
on Dec 30, 2014 at 8:57 am

Robert is a registered user.

@what's so good about it... Yes, they do not sell a physical product so there is no tax on that. So what should the city do - well MP imposed "in lieu" fees. So yes, facebook has and does pay those fees. Additionally, the building permits, etc. raise money for the city (and create jobs). facebook also pays MP for the use of a police officer to reduce drain on the city. I am not arguing hat all the fees MP charges (and other cities receive as well just being neighbors) is the correct amount; rather pointing out that a space that sat empty now has use and has those who do generate money on sales tax (some in MP) selling to fb.


Posted by DanaHendrickson
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Dec 30, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Question: Doesn't Facebook pay property taxes to Menlo Park? If so, what amount of this revenue will the 3 campuses contribute to Menlo Park?


Posted by what's so good about it
a resident of Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park
on Jan 1, 2015 at 4:41 pm

Were in lieu fees assessed in perpetuity or for a single or limited time?
@regional view - the traffic could be destined to other cities, but that's the point. Why have so much of a particular type be destined to our town?