After a year of rumors, two future stores in France may be on schedule for a 2012 grand opening. According to the MacGeneration Web site, Apple has filed an application to operate a retail business at the Quatre Temps shopping center northwest of city center, at the La Défense complex of office buildings, a train station, museum and other retailers. The area is a tourist destination, but also is a crossroads for thousands of daily office workers. The exact location of the store within the shopping isn’t know, but it could open by year’s end. Meanwhile, in Strasbourg a passerby has noticed increased activity at a retail space at Aubette in city center, possibly indicating the start of construction for an Apple store. The building dates to 1765 as a military barracks, but has hosted all types of commercial enterprises since then. In 2008 some ground floor space was converted to retail, where Apple’s store could open by year’s end.
A passerby took this amazing photo of the interior of the SoHo (NYC) Apple retail store in the midst of its complete reconstruction and expansion. This view from the front of the building on Prince Street shows the original five front steps in the foreground (covered with metal), support scaffolding and tons of new structural steel. The final store will be larger by incorporating about 5,000 square-feet that was vacated last year by the U.S. Postal Service at the rear of this space. Otherwise, this view seems to indicate that the store will re-open with a nearly identical interior configuration and design, including the glass staircase and skylight. It’s possible the store could open by the end of 2012. Click on the photo for a larger view. (photo by Michael)
The chairman of a New York City real estate firm may have slipped up when he told a newspaper reporter that Apple’s real estate team approached him several months ago, and is now in preliminary talks to open a retail store along Austin Street in Forest Hills, Queens. Yeheskel Elias told the New York Daily News that, “I will do anything I can to bring Apple in.” Elias did not provide details of his talks with Apple, or mention specifically where Apple was scouting. Apple usually demands confidentiality for its real estate dealings, so Elias’ comments are significant. The company even posted a copy of the newspaper article on the “Press” page of its Web site. Austin Street runs for about three miles through the center of the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens. The area is a mix of national retailers along Austin Street, and residential homes and apartments beyond. The Heskel Group manages several properties along Austin Street, including stores occupied by Ann Taylor Loft, Staples, Gap, Duane Reade and The Disney Store. Several of the properties would fulfill Apple’s requirements, including the 22,000 square-foot, two-level building that houses the Gap store. There are existing Apple stores in Manhattan and Staten Island, but none in the other boroughs of New York City. There have been several rumors of future stores in the Bronx over the years, but no current projects have been spotted.
The state of Tennessee has reportedly won a ticket in Apple’s 2012 retail store lottery, with the selection of the Cool Springs Galleria for a store south of Nashville. Apple executives have said the company will open about 40 stores during fiscal 2012, with only about 10 lucky locations within the United States. According to the Cool Springs News, tipsters say that existing tenant Abercrombie will vacate space #1585 within a week. Mall manager CBL & Associates Properties Inc. reportedly declined to renew Abercrombie’s lease, opting to bring Apple to the mall. By April, construction will begin on installing an Apple store within the 9,316 square-foot space. The store, sporting an 85-foot wide storefront, could open by September. The mall sits alongside Interstate 65, and within an upscale region at the top end of Apple’s usual average household income demographic—over $114,000. Update: The Cool Springs News has said Apple will also take over the 4,524 square-foot Brooks Brothers space, for a total of 13,840 square-foot, a truly enormous store for a shopping mall location. map/mall plan
Job listings and tipsters have updated information about two Apple store in Italy that will open later this year. According to the Ispazio.net Web site, the stores will appear in Torino alongside upscale retailers on Via Roma, and in Rome at the Porta di Roma shopping center. First, an on-going surveillance of Apple’s job listings has revealed a new store location in Torino that has been rumored for two years. Store watchers say the likely location is in the former Mondadori bookstore at Via Roma 80, an impressive arcade in the midst of many other international retailers. Second, a black construction barricade has appeared on the ground floor of the Porta di Roma shopping center north of city center in Rome. Job listings for the store appeared last November. It would be the second Apple store for each city. The Torino store could open in August, while the Rome store could open by May. mall plan
Almost two years after the site of a future Apple store in Basel (Switzerland) was spotted by local bloggers, blueprints have now been discovered that confirm the two-level store. The plans not only show a storefront and building configuration that is typically Apple, they also show the placement of tables and other furniture that is identical to Apple stores. As reported by MacPrime.ch, Apple’s architect has been revising its original plans over the past year in accordance with city regulations. Originally, Apple proposed a 30-foot tall glass curtain wall for the storefront, spanning the ground floor and mezzanine level. However, the latest proposal submitted last October includes demolishing the current building at Freie Strasse 47 and building a single-level glass façade, MacPrime says. The upper levels would be behind standard windows. The store will have a 48-foot wide storefront, and span about 7,500 square-feet of retail space, and another 2,800 square-feet of offices and stock in the basement. A glass staircase connects the two levels at the rear of the space, the plans show. The project will cost about $6.3 million could be completed in early 2013.
One of the most unusual and amazing architectural designs for an Apple store will reportedly appear in Aix en Provence (France), featuring a nearly all-glass structure enabled by new technology developed by Apple’s glass suppliers. According to AixEnProvence.fr magazine, the current tired-looking tourism office on the south side of Place du General de Gaulle will be demolished and the Apple store will be constructed at the site. A rendering posted by the magazine shows a one-level structure set back on a broad stone plaza, with a tan-colored rear wall, and all other encompassing walls made of glass. A second rendering shows the store is an extension of a design roughly based on the Upper West Side (NYC) store. Typically for Apple, the rendering does not show any Apple-like features and there are no visible Apple logos. According to the magazine, the city required Apple to build to new earthquake standards, and harmonize with the surrounding picturesque streets. The city is in the south of France, and is favored by good weather and thousands of tourists each year. The area to the west of the future store has been recently reconstructed with many upscale shops from international retailers. According to the magazine the store could open by late 2012 or early 2013. rendering
Last June tipsters pointed to a future Apple store in Sydney (Australia), and now a black construction barricade on the third level of the Broadway Shopping Centre confirms the information. Passersby say that the company’s traditional black-painted plywood now covers units 303 to 307, a space totaling nearly 6,000 square-feet. The mall is adjacent to a technical college with 10,000 students. It is also about 1½ miles from the existing George Street Apple store, and three miles from the Bondi Junction store. Based on construction schedules, this store could open this fall. photos
If tipsters are correct, Apple threw a dart at the map of North America to locate a new store, and it nearly landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, the dart stuck in the Halifax Shopping Centre (Nova Scotia), where the future store will become the eastern-most location in North America. In fact, it’s 350 miles further east than the next-closest Maine Mall store. According to the allNovaScotia.com Web site (sub.), the future store will appear near the Sears store, in an area that’s been under construction since mid-November. Workers are reportedly relocating an escalator and building a mezzanine level where the Apple store will eventually appear. The mall was renovated in 2007, and recently has been adding several upscale retailers to serve the province’s one million residents. There are already 22 Apple stores in Canada, with possibly another four opening during 2012. mall plan
A painted image on a Düsseldorf (Germany) construction side barricade has sparked speculation that the future Kö-Bogen development will include an Apple retail store. The development is currently under construction, and is scheduled to open in 2013 with many upscale, international retailers on the ground level, and offices in the upper floors. The 432,000 square-foot development was designed by noted architect Daniel Libeskind, who has worked on several other high-profile projects, including the Ground Zero site in New York City. His design for Kö-Bogen includes a roof terrace, green courtyards and parking structure, all connecting the various buildings over two city blocks. During construction, passersby noticed a rendering of the development painted onto a construction barricade. Within that rendering, they say, is the image of iPods inside a store, leading to the speculation Apple could become a tenant at the site. However, architects and developers commonly include specific retailers in their renderings to make them more realistic, even if the retailers haven’t signed leases. Apple has eight stores in Germany, and a ninth store is under construction in Berlin. The nearest store to Düsseldorf is the CentrO store, 25 miles north in Oberhausen. renderings
Apple will continue its expansion in Canada with a store at the Masonville Place mall in the city of London (Ont.), filling in coverage between existing stores in the Toronto (Ont.) and Detroit (Mich.) regions. According to real estate sources, Apple will move into the upper-level space that Eddie Bauer will vacate this week as part of its earlier bankruptcy filing. The nearly-square space covers about 6,176 square-feet next to a Gap store, with a 73-foot storefront. As confirmation, city records indicate that planning officials are reviewing a $3 million construction project for the mall that includes an Apple logo. The store would be about halfway between the existing Conestoga store in Canada and the Partridge Creek store in Michigan, and could open in fall 2012. read more…
After a year of discussion, Madrid (Spain) building officials have announced the approval of renovation plans for an historic building on the city’s main plaza, including construction of a high-profile Apple store. As reported by TeleCinco.com today, deputy mayor Manuel Cobo said at a press conference that the Puerta del Sol #1 project will retain the 1860-era building’s exterior and make substantial technical upgrades. More importantly, he said, “It is one more link in the process of downtown revitalization, which will contribute to increasing commercial and tourist attractions of Madrid.” The approval is now subject to public comment for one month, and will then become final. Apple’s store plans were rumored in 2010, and the building was confirmed by tipsters last January. It’s believed Apple will occupy the ground floor and first upper level, along with some portion of the basement. The store could open in fall 2012. rendering
A proposal to build an expanded Lincoln Road (Fla.) retail store that Apple withdrew last summer has now sparked a political battle between business interests who are encouraging commerce and preservationists who object to demolition of an historic building. The Miami Herald reports that city planning board member Jonathan Fryd has proposed eliminating two two seats on the city’s historic preservation board, seats occupied by preservationist groups that objected to Apple’s proposal. Perhaps not coincidentally, Fryd is a partner in the development company that owns the building where the larger Apple store would be built. The existing Apple store opened in July 2006 along an upscale pedestrian shopping lane in Miami Beach, but was crowded into a relatively small, 30 foot-wide space. Earlier this year Apple proposed demolishing the building at 1001 Lincoln Road, about 1,000 feet from the existing store, and constructing a larger store with a glass storefront and tall stone side wall. But when heritage groups objected to the removal of the 1926-era building, Apple withdrew its proposal. Business leaders are fearful that if the Apple project isn’t approve, the company will close the current store and move to another city, taking thousands of shoppers with them. Preservationists say the proposed store building is historic, although critics point out it’s an unremarkable cinder-block structure that has been altered many times since its was built. The Lincoln Road expansion is part of a long-term project to remodel and enlarge smaller stores, increasing their size from about 3,000 square-feet t about 6,000 square-feet.
In a rare public admission, an Apple spokesperson has confirmed construction of a replacement retail store in Palo Alto (N. Calif.), which building plans indicate will include a vaulted glass roof identical to the design of the Upper West Side (NYC) store. It will be the second store to re-use the UWS design, after the Highland Village (Tex.) store opens some time next month. Retail spokesperson Amy Bessette told a reporter for the Palo Alto Daily News that the existing Palo Alto store has been “incredibly popular.” The store opened in 2001 as the ninth location in the chain, serving the surrounding affluent region south of San Francisco, and nearby Stanford University. In the story Bessette said, “We are planning a beautiful new store just a few steps away.” In fact, the new store at 340 University Avenue will be two blocks (600 feet) from the existing store, and will provide over twice the square-footage. The new store was first revealed by IFO in January 2010, and city officials recently gave final approval for the $3.1 million project. Construction could begin in the coming weeks, with a fall 2012 grand opening. Bessette’s confirmation of the store is remarkable, since the company has only ever confirmed a handful of new stores before construction was begun. Traditionally, new stores are only confirmed by a Web posting about five days before they open. Read the original IFO story on the move for more details on the future store’s location and store design.
Nearly a year after tipsters pointed to a building along Berlin’s (Germany) main shopping street as a future Apple retail store, the company seems to have confirmed the location by posting job listings for a full complement of store employees. No location is given in the listing first noticed by ifun.de and Macerkopf.de, but black barricades and construction at Kurfürstendamm 26 indicate the likely site, a three-level former cinema. IFO scouted the street for potential store sties in 2005 and noticed the building was vacant. There was no activity until last January, when the glass entrances to the building were covered in black material, a traditional Apple color. The building dates to 1913 as a stage theater, and survived World War II with little damage. The interior has been extensively renovated over the years, but the 70-foot wide exterior retains the original Doric columns holding up an 87-foot wide ornate cornice. The ground floor and upper level are about 7,000 square-feet each, with nearly 10,000 square-feet on the third level, the location of the former theater. The basement could provide another 9,300 square-feet for back-of-house space for the Apple store. Based on construction schedules, the store could open by mid-2012.
