Apple Gets Final Go Ahead for New San Francisco Flagship Store

Apple has received final approval for its upcoming Union Square Apple Store from the San Francisco Planning Commission and the city’s Board of Supervisors, reports Re/code. With the go ahead from the city, Apple can begin construction on the new store, which is located approximately three blocks away from its existing San Francisco store.

model

A model of the San Francisco Apple Store courtesy of ifoAppleStore

"We are thrilled that the city of San Francisco has given its final approval to begin work on our new store and public plaza, which will make a wonderful addition to Union Square and create hundreds of local jobs," Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette told Re/code. "Our Stockton Street store has been incredibly popular, welcoming over 13 million customers since it opened nine years ago, and we look forward to making a new home on Union Square."

Apple first earned final approval from the planning commission in February and it received a necessary zoning concession from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last week after agreeing to revise its initial building plans. Apple’s original plan, which received some criticism, called for the removal of the historical Ruth Asawa fountain at the location and the installation of an 80-foot wide wall along a key pedestrian and transit corridor.

The company filed a revised plan back in August, pledging to move the fountain to a nearby location, add an eight-foot wide window for visual interest, and move the glass wall of the store back by four feet.

Apple's new Union Square store will be located in the former Levi's building at the corner of Post and Stockton streets. Renderings of the location have suggested it will have massive 44-foot tall sliding glass panels at the entry way, with an Apple representative calling the location "more iconic" than the company's well-known Fifth Avenue store in New York City.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

sfoneway Avatar
141 months ago
one problem

ummm looks like the architects have cars going both directions on the road in front of the new apple store....except that's a one way road here in SF. doh
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
141 months ago
More iconic than the fifth ave store? Hmm not sure about that.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NachoGrande Avatar
141 months ago
I hope they plant the tree a little bit better than in the model...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Z400Racer37 Avatar
141 months ago
"Gets Final Go Ahead" - Receives approval from bureaucrats to do something they want to do on their own property.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
141 months ago
So you support a world in which the people with the most money can buy up land and do whatever they want with it? Sounds great. Want to build a sex shop next door to a primary school? Sure no worries—you paid for the land! Build a 30 metre monument to yourself in the middle of the city? Sure, why not—if you've got the money to do it. Build a 5 story tower in your suburban block that casts a shadow over half your street? Hey, it's your own property—go for your life!

(PS. I'm not saying the bureaucrats aren't too heavy handed at times. Just pointing out that some urban planning is a necessary function of government.)

Crypto-libertarianism is a uniquely American phenomenon. My experience in dealing with these people is that for the most part, they don't actually believe in the ideology they preach. If something big and ugly and disruptive was dropped on their doorstep, they'd be the first to demand that something be done about it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalsta Avatar
141 months ago
"Gets Final Go Ahead" - Receives approval from bureaucrats to do something they want to do on their own property.
I assume you haven't ever had to acquire planning permission, because they can take you down for so much as building a garage in your own property.
...Exactly my point. It's disgusting, and so are they.
So you support a world in which the people with the most money can buy up land and do whatever they want with it? Sounds great. Want to build a sex shop next door to a primary school? Sure no worries—you paid for the land! Build a 30 metre monument to yourself in the middle of the city? Sure, why not—if you've got the money to do it. Build a 5 story tower in your suburban block that casts a shadow over half your street? Hey, it's your own property—go for your life!

(PS. I'm not saying the bureaucrats aren't too heavy handed at times. Just pointing out that some urban planning is a necessary function of government.)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)