Apple’s visionary time-horizon apparently doesn’t just apply to the company’s products. Before the approval process for an-instantly famous second campus in Cupertino is complete, it seems the company is already thinking about a third campus in the California town.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that the Mayor of Cupertino, Gilbert Wong, has been told that the company expects to begin working on Apple Campus 3 when Apple Campus 2 is completed in 2015. The location of this third campus is unknown at this time, except that it is intended for Cupertino.
Apple’s Proposed Spaceship Campus
Before that can happen, however, Apple Campus 2 (the official name, but a.k.a. The Spaceship) needs to be approved, built, and occupied. The next step in the process takes place Thursday in a meeting of the Cupertino City Planning Commission where “Apple Campus 2 - Environmental Impact Report Scoping” is on the agenda. Residents are invited to raise their concerns around traffic and parking, among other things. In total, there are 13 different approvals that Apple has requested that cover everything from tree removal to buying a street that runs through the property so it can be demolished.
This past June 7, in what is currently Steve Jobs’ last public presentation, Apple revealed its designs for a donut-shaped, glass-faced office park, with an emphasis on “park” as the plan included lots of green space. The Apple signature style is infused throughout the plans. Everything from the name, Apple Campus 2, which is as understated as their product names (e.g., iPad 2) to the sleek, futuristic design that is intended to be “serene and secure.”
The 176-acre campus was slated to hold 12,000 employees, which has now expanded to 13,000. But apparently Apple is growing fast enough that they expect to outgrow the space available in both Apple Campus 1 and Apple Campus 2 by 2015.
Approval for Apple Campus 2 is expected by the end of 2012 with construction beginning in 2013 and move-in expected at this point in 2015.