Cupertino City Council last night voted unanimously to approve Apple’s planning application for the circular campus building first presented to council members by Steve Jobs in 2011, in what was to turn out to be his last public appearance before his death. It was Steve Jobs who nicknamed the building the ‘spaceship.’
Although the approval is still subject to a final vote on 15th November, the San Jose Mercury News reports that this is merely a formality.
Now that the project has been approved, the council by regulation must meet one more time on Nov. 15 for a final and largely perfunctory vote. The spaceship, for all practical purposes, has now been approved for liftoff.
You can view a gallery of photos of a detailed model below the fold … Expand Expanding Close
Following this morning’s report that Apple’s grand spaceship campus introduced by Steve Jobs in 2011 won’t open until mid-2016, Apple has sent its revised plans to the city of Cupertino this afternoon. The 176-acre campus was originally slated to complete in 2015 after the company was set to start work this year; however, the City of Cupertino still needs to complete an environmental review. Apple notified Cupertino of the time-frame change in the updated project proposal and added, “This schedule may be modified to meet Apple’s business needs.”
We reported earlier this month that Apple was waiting on city officials from Austin, Texas to decide whether to offer the company an $8.6 million incentive over 10 years as part of Apple’s proposal to invest $304 million in a new campus. The Texas Enterprise Fund is already kicking in $21 million over 10 years as part of the deal, and last night the City Council unanimously approved the $8.6 million in incentives. According to a report from KXAN, this will initiate “the negotiation and execution of an Economic Development Agreement with APPLE INC,” but Travis County officials are still weighing the decision to offer Apple an additional $6 million in real estate related incentives… Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this month, we told you Gov. Rick Perry announced plans to double the size of Apple’s workforce in Austin, Texas with an investment of $304 million that would add up to 3,600 jobs. Apple will receive $21 million in incentives over 10 years through the Texas Enterprise Fund as part of the deal. According several reports from KVUE News and Austin news website Statesman, Apple representatives met with Austin City Council officials today for a formal proposal.
The plan would see Apple building up to 1 million square feet of new office space taking up approximately 38 acres at West Parmer Lane and Delcour Drive. As we reported before, the new jobs would mostly be administrative positions. As part of the deal, we also learned that City Council would offer Apple an extra $8.6 million over the 10-year period, but Apple is still apparently waiting for the City of Austin to come to a decision on whether to offer an incentive.
