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Meta representatives have declined to provide new information to Menlo Park’s Planning Commission about the future of Willow Village, the office and housing development in Belle Haven that Meta announced it was halting earlier this month.
Commissioners repeatedly asked Meta representatives for more information about the future of Willow Village.
“I think a lot of people in the community are wondering what’s going to happen with that land,” said commissioner Katie Behroozi. “What can you let us know? What can you share with us?”
Eric Morley of Signature Development Group, the project’s developer, couldn’t provide detailed answers about the fate of the mega-project that promised to redevelop a sprawling research park and bring much needed amenities, like a pharmacy and full-service grocery store, to the Belle Haven neighborhood.
“We don’t have a timetable to share with the commission,” Morley said. “We also don’t disclose occupancy due to safety, security and liability for both our buildings and employees. So, (we are) not in a position to share that at this time. We’ll certainly keep the city up to date.”
Even with its suspension, the Willow Village project remains in compliance with the terms of the development agreement between Meta and Menlo Park. On Monday, May 18, planning commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution finding that Meta had demonstrated “good-faith compliance” with the agreement’s provisions. With the terms of the agreement conditional on construction of the project, most items are not applicable at this time, the staff report stated. The agreement remains in effect until 2032.
The project was set to include a projected $188 million in community amenities, including a grocery store, pharmacy and bank. It was also projected to bring about $6 million in new tax revenue for the city. In a public comment on Monday evening, Belle Haven community member Pam Jones said she wanted to hear about Meta’s intentions for the Willow Village property, which spans 59 acres in Belle Haven.
“We still need housing, particularly senior housing and lower income housing. And as we all know, it is a well-documented food desert,” Jones said of Belle Haven. “I’m looking forward to the conversations about how Meta will support the planned housing, the grocery store and neighborhood serving retail.”
Commissioners briefly highlighted concern about what the project’s cancellation would mean for Menlo Park’s Housing Element, a state-mandated plan that articulates how Menlo Park will meet its share of regional housing needs by 2031. Commissioner Misha Silin said that Willow Village’s housing units were a major component of the city’s housing element pipeline.
He added that, at the commission’s March discussion of the 2025 progress report, “We said everything has to go perfectly in order for us to meet our goals. Now clearly that’s not on track.”
“I encourage us as a community to come together and figure out what we can do as a city,” Silin said. “And perhaps not rely so heavily on third parties that are acting in their own best interest.”
The Housing Element discussion was largely outside the scope of the commission’s discussion for Monday’s meeting, which focused on the annual review of Willow Village and three earlier Meta projects that required a development agreement.
As part of the Willow Village development agreement, Meta would have had to complete 30 requirements that were tied to phases of the project and subject to the commission’s annual review.
Twenty-four of the 30 terms of the Willow Village development agreement were listed as conditional or requiring no action, according to the staff report. Two requirements were listed as in progress or ongoing, and four were listed as completed.
In a letter to Menlo Park City Manager Justin Murphy, Meta’s Global Head of Real Estate Brian Zubradt wrote that the pause does not reflect the quality of the project or lessen the value of collaborative efforts. He wrote that Peninsula Innovation Partners, a Meta-controlled LLC, remains in full compliance with the existing Willow Village development agreement, and the company intends to continue certain community programs currently underway through the time period outlined in the agreement.
“Meta’s multi-million dollar investments in Menlo Park over recent years have supported vital initiatives such as the Belle Haven Community Campus, local job training, healthy food access for families, and teacher housing subsidies,” Zubradt wrote. “Our dedication to Menlo Park and the community partnerships remains steadfast.”
According to Zubradt’s letter, the community programs that Meta will continue are the local workforce training, career development workshops, job fairs, volunteer engagement, community organization fairs and career experience programs.
The three other projects that commissioners reviewed were the East Campus project that was approved by the City Council in 2012; a West Campus project approved by council in 2013; and a campus expansion project approved in 2016. Most of the terms for these three projects were marked as completed for this year’s annual review.
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Greatly appreciate this insightful post. Halting massive multi-acre suburban mixed-use projects immediately threatens anticipated municipal tax revenues.
Again, I think it is very important to emphasize that absolutely nothing has been started construction wise in the “Willow Village” project. At this point, the city should be checking on how existing buildings on the site can be repurposed for business and housing. The parking and buildings seem adequate for a few businesses if repurposed right. Low income housing could go in some of the warehouse space in the back with proper planning and building. Overall, wouldn’t repurposing existing structures bring potential business and housing benefits with a lot less material waste and carbon emissions from the massive destruction/construction project it would have been?
The city doesn’t own the land. Meta does. And they may have plans for it but they aren’t sharing them with the city at the moment.
Yes. My thinking is that instead of encouraging the “Willow Village” maybe the city could convince Meta to do something for the community with the structures already there
We do not and will not support any efforts to build a data center on that site.
Another Meta property is the mall at Hamilton and Willow, where tenants have received 60 day notices. I wonder what Meta has in mind for that location and when they plan to share that with the city.
That’s concerning. I hope it isn’t part of an effort to make us even more of a food desert because that would be the very opposite of being the good neighbor that are claiming to be in this article.