Speculation about three future Apple locations has ended with confirmations, including one of the longest running searches for the perfect space in downtown Philadelphia (Penn.). First, after a delay caused by the economy, construction has finally begun on the building in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington (DC) that Apple purchased in 2007. The former French Connection store at 1229 Wisconsin Avenue NW cost the company $13.7 million and has sat empty for two years. The district’s permit authorities wrangled with Apple for several months over whether the building could be demolished or only rennovated. The lastest design present to district officials showed a one-level, red-brick storefront. The store could open by May 2010. Next, after over five years of speculation, Philly Apple fanatics will finally receive an Apple store on Walnut Street. In 2004 tipsters pointed to the 1700 block of Walnut Street, but empty spaces were always filled by other retailers. Last March tipsters said Apple was negotiating for 1619 Walnut Street, the former KYW-TV studios. Finally, last month insiders said Apple selected 1609 Walnut Street for a store that could open by May 2010. Lastly, a surprise future store has been confirmed at the Los Cerritos Center (S. Calif.) along Interstate 605 in a Los Angeles region that has been a mini-black-out zone up to now. This store could also be open by May 2010.
This map shows how a large portion of mid-LA has had no Apple store before the Los Cerritos Center location. All the stores have been focused on the San Fernando Valley, north LA and Orange County.
View Los Cerritos – Black-Out Zone in a larger map
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice to see that black hole filled soon. My parents were stuck between the Manh Bch and S. Coast Plaza stores in Belmont Shore.
Btw, Gary, there’s no such thing as a “mini” black out zone in LA. Unless you’re driving between 10pm-5am or it’s walking distance, forget it. ;)
I’m in Northern Orange County and will have three Apple Stores within 20 miles of me.
That’s okay. I’ll still stick with MicroCenter. They have a lot more Mac software than the Apple Stores, which have thrown out most of their Mac software for iPod accessories.
Could the post author elaborate on how the black-out zone was drawn on the map above? There are stores in Pasadena, Brea, and Rancho Cucamonga, which should make the zone much smaller I imagine. [IFO - The map was drawn using the stores you mentioned as the outside boundaries. I think accuracy is less of the issue than why Apple hasn't located any stores within the black-out zone. It's pretty obvious to me they were avoiding it.]
Perhaps a better way to draw the map would be to draw circles around the store locations where the circles represent a 30-minute drive radius or something along those lines. This would illustrate the black-out zone much more clearly.
Still, as I have pointed out for the past several years, northern Lake County in Illinois continues to be overlooked. There is a mall in Vernon Hills (Westfield Hawthorn) that would be prime for it. I’m sick of driving from Gurnee to Northbrook or Deer Park. This is an area of Chicagoland that is constantly being ignored and would benefit greatly from a store. I just don’t understand Apple’s retail thinking in this case.
Still awaiting the announced-several-years-ago store in Little Rock, Arkansas. Been to the Mall it was planned for and everything is open. Apple needs to re-think the location; fine, but get it open.
The map is not entirely correct — there’s an Apple Store in Manhattan Beach, in the mall next to a Fry’s Electronics store.
That said, while I can understand Apple not wanting to put a store in lower-income areas such as El Monte or Lynwood, I’m a little confused why they don’t have one in the South Bay (Torrance/Rancho Palos Verdes) region. RPV in particular has a high median income that’s a perfect Apple demographic; either the Peninsula Shopping Center or the Del Amo Fashion Center could easily host an Apple Store.
–R.J.
It looks like The Grove Apple Store is within the blackout zone boundary, as well. (And the store on the 3rd Street Promenade, in Santa Monica.)
I understand that point that you’re making – that the 909 area code, South Central LA, and beach communities south of Santa Monica and north of Newport Beach have all been ignored by Apple – but the map seems a little extreme, and to imply that Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica are in an Apple store “black-out zone” diminishes the credibility of an otherwise good point.