In the latest sign of growing pains, Facebook, fresh form an infusion of investor cash that raised its value to $50 billion, is moving its headquarters from Palo Alto, Calif., to bigger digs in nearby Menlo Park in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The one-million-square foot campus that will be the social-networking giant’s new home contains offices for Oracle, which acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010. That company will still use office space on the campus under an agreement with RREEF real-estate management, which will lease some of the 11 buildings to Facebook in a 15-year deal, according to Palo Alto Online.
Safety Valve for Growth
The web site also said the company bought adjacent land on two lots near the campus on Constitution Drive. Facebook’s real-estate director, John Tenanes, told Palo Alto Online the company might want a “safety valve” for growth in the form of more space before the lease expires. That makes enough room for 6,100 employees, with a tunnel linking the properties.
Facebook currently has about 2,000 employees. The report said Menlo Park views Facebook as an anchor tenant that could attract more big companies to the San Mateo County town of about 30,000. Other companies that call Menlo Park home include biotechnology firm Geron, human-resources firm Robert Half International, and the research institute SRI International.
Facebook’s move comes as cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, seems to be paying a price for his celebrity. Zuckerberg reportedly filed a restraining order against a 31-year-old man who showed up at his office and home, left flowers, and sent Zuckerberg messages via Facebook, including one that said, “I am ready to die for you.”
Protection Order
The gossip site TMZ said 27-year-old Zuckerberg filed court papers claiming Pradeep Manukonda tried to “follow, surveil and contact Mr. Zuckerberg using language threatening his personal…