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The Menlo Park Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss tonight (Oct. 16) Facebook’s revised plans for its development along Bayfront Expressway at the former TE Connectivity site.
Facebook is seeking approval to increase the height of an office building to as much as 97 feet, and to build an eight-story parking garage.
The company received approval for its development in November 2016, and is currently building the first of two office buildings, called “Building 21.”
The City Council has approved another office building, “Building 22,” as well as a 200-room hotel, but Facebook now wants to change some of the features of Building 22.
The company has redesigned its layout for Building 22, proposing to build the same square footage (449,500 square feet), only across four stories, and to consolidate parking into an eight-story parking garage, with three bridges on different levels connecting the garage to the office building.
Facebook developers want permission to increase the maximum height of Building 22 from 75 feet to 87 feet for a skylight. With a maintenance platform for the skylight, the structure could reach a height of 97 feet.
The company also plans to use about 100,000 square feet of the site for a recharging area for its fleet of electric shuttle buses and trams.
In May, the Planning Commission gave Facebook feedback on a previous iteration of the redesigned project. Since then, the company has agree to lower the height of the parking structure by about 6 feet, set back some of the solar panels on top of the parking garage, change the facades for the parking structure, and shift around some of the publicly accessible open space.
Development agreement
The Planning Commission will also review a proposed revision of a development agreement for the project that would add a payment of $9 million by Facebook for “the safety of the community,” according to the staff report.
The company has offered to fund, for five years, the creation of a new police unit in the city’s M-2 area (everything east of U.S. 101 except the Belle Haven neighborhood and some businesses west of the Dumbarton right-of-way line). According to the staff report, the offer now is for $9 million over five years, “however, the City and Facebook are engaged in ongoing discussions to determine the final amount of revenue that would be provided to the City.”
The Planning Commission’s meeting is set to start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St. in the Civic Center. Access the agenda here and watch the meeting online here.
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