Social media giant Facebook, a company that brags a culture that's more college than corporate, what with an ever-flowing stream free ice cream, "walking meetings," on-site shopping, and outdoor movie nights, has not only recruited the likes of starchitect Frank Gehry to build a hulking new wing for its mothership HQ in Menlo Park, Calif., but is also, so the Wall Street Journal reports, now on track to build a housing development just a five-minute bike ride ("You don't even have to put on the brakes," architect John Tenanes, Facebook's director of real estate, told the WSJ) from the main campus. It's a move that's been largely untouched by corporations since the first half of the century, when U.S. tycoons and robber barons provided their employees housing amenities near their factories—Fordlandia, anyone?—to increase efficiency. If all goes well, it could be the beginning of a new era in corporate perks, one that transcends even—gasp!—in-office arcades and spas. Anyway, eight fast facts about Anton Menlo, as gleaned by the Journal:
8. Facebook is using a "local developer" to build a 394-unit housing "community" on 630,000 square feet.
7. Inside: a doggy day care, a sportsbar, a bike repair shop, a hairstylist, and more.
6. They will also offer woodworking classes, plus laundry and dry cleaning services.
5. If your bike is in the shop, or it's raining or something (it does that in California sometimes!) there's still the shuttle bus.
4. This is all thanks to Facebook's in-house "amenities team," which is in charge of all the company's fringe benefits, like the onsite candy shop, bike repair shop, barber, and doctor's office.
3. Only 15 units will be designated to Facebook employees, the rest will be on the open market.
2. The whole project is estimated to cost about $120M.
1. The apartments will go for "market rates," (a pretty penny in the Silicon Valley area these days) and a few will be set aside for low income residents.
· Facebook's Company Town
· All Facebook coverage [Curbed National]
· All Silicon Valley coverage [Curbed National]
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