Apple is on track to build a new, much larger Apple Store retail location in Palo Alto, according to a report from ifoAppleStore. Apple has received approval to demolish and replace the existing space at 340 University — two blocks from its current location.
The company had been planning to simply renovate the existing structure it owns, but ifoAppleStore said that engineers at Apple found structural problems in the location that lead to the firm requesting permission to nuke and pave the proverty.
For those not familiar with Palo Alto, this is a much more involved task than one might imagine, as the city works overtime at controlling any and all changes to its thriving downtown area. Sources familiar with the commercial real estate market in the Bay Area described that control to The Mac Observer as “almost unprecendented,” comparing it (ironically) to Apple’s own control over its various ecosystems.
ifoAppleStore said that the new building will resemble the gorgeous location Apple operates in the Upper West Side of New York City (see below), with a large glass front on a stone building. It will be a 16,600 square foot location (counting areas that will not be accessible to the public).
Upper West Site Apple Store
Source: Apple
Apple plans to use this space to turn the store into a “commons for the community…to gather,” according to paperwork the company submitted to the Architectural Review Board. “These functions will establish the store as not just a place to purchase goods, but as a resource to the applicant’s larger community,” the company wrote.
You can read more about developments at ifoAppleStore.