Meta announces major expansion for Burlingame

“These offices will help support our employees’ evolving workforce needs,” Meta spokesperson Chloe Meyere said in a statement. 

A timeline for when employees will occupy the buildings and expected capacity were not provided.

The acquired space in Burlingame is blocks away from the headquarters of Meta’s Oculus, the company’s virtual reality venture. The Oculus campus, designed to house 3,200 employees, remains at a fraction of its capacity as remote work continues, though it is expected workers will begin to occupy the space in greater numbers early next year.

Meyere previously noted the company was focused on “data, not dates” in its plans to shift back to in-person work.

The leased buildings are part of a campus owned by New York real estate investment company Tishman Speyer. Recently approved expansions in the area, including a 241,000-square-foot building at 567 Airport Blvd. are slated for biotech or information science uses.

The Meta leases will aid the company in its net zero carbon emission’s goal by “reducing commute times and supporting local public transit infrastructure,” Meyere said.

A shuttle established by the county Transportation Authority in partnership with Meta and Commute.org is planned to serve the Oculus campus and could serve the newer expansion as well, with transport offered to BART and Caltrain stations.

The shuttle will also be free and open to the public — the offices are near popular outdoor recreation areas including the Anza Lagoon, Bayside Park and Anza Fisherman’s Park.

More than half of Meta employees at other Bay Area facilities use transit modes other than driving single occupancy vehicles to get to work, according to Meyere. Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach, who chairs the San Mateo County Transportation Authority Board of Directors, previously noted the Oculus campus is perhaps better positioned to use public transit than Meta’s other locations.

Facebook rebranded itself as Meta earlier this year, with an announcement describing a metaverse allowing shared “immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together.”