As Tech Companies Flock to the City, Facebook Doubles Down on the Suburbs

Jessica Guynn explores Facebook's construction of a "Main Street" through its sprawling campus on the outskirts of Menlo Park. Seen as the next level in the Silicon Valley's "escalating race to pamper employees," what some are calling a "21st century company town" will reportedly include a bike shop, barbershop, and health clinic, in addition to a myriad of dining establishments.  

According to Guynn, "Facebook had to come up with new carrots when it moved its headquarters a few months ago to a suburban outpost at the edge of tidal mud flats and salt marshes cut off from the rest of Menlo Park by a six-lane highway. It's so isolated that when former tenant Sun Microsystems occupied it, the campus was nicknamed 'Sun Quentin.'"

Facebook's plans stand in sharp contrast to other Bay Area tech companies such as Twitter, Zynga, Pinterest and Pulse, who are decamping for San Francisco.