Welcome To Anton Menlo: The Facebook Town Being Built For The Company’s Employees

All the comforts of home could soon be just a five-minute bicycle ride away for hundreds of employees at the Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. The company behind the social network has revealed plans to build an apartment community just for its workers, as noted by the Daily Mail.

The complex would include a pool, a sports bar and even a doggy day-care center for employees’ pets, the Wall Street Journal reported. A bicycle-repair shop with on-site storage, dry-cleaning and laundry services, a pet-walking service, and a yoga and training facility are some of the other amenities planned.

Because of a shortage of housing options close to Facebook’s HQ, company executives reasoned that its own residential community could solve a probem for many workers, the Journal indicated. With the firm’s focus on building a collegial atmosphere on its corporate campus -- hosting team-building functions and screening films outdoors -- it seems appropriate it would envision employees’ living spaces in the same way.

The $120 million community would contain 394 housing units, with a total of 630,000 square feet. Employees would shell out around $2,000 for each apartment, the market rate for similar housing in the area, the Daily Mail said.

John Tenanes, Facebook’s director of real estate, suggested to the Wall Street Journal he is pleased by the proximity of the apartment community to the company’s HQ. “The beauty of this thing is that it’s extremely close to our campus,” said Tenanes, who is heavily involved in the planning. “It’s a five-minute bike ride” along a dedicated path that runs along the San Francisco Bay, he noted. “You don’t even have to put on the brakes.”