Apple's New Promenade Store Approved

A new Apple store proposed for the took a big step forward at the meeting on Wednesday night. The construction is set to be built where the old Borders store used to be (1415 Third St.) and is to consist primarily of glass, including the ceiling.

The Development Review Permit for the project was approved 4-0 on consent, with commissioners Hank Koning and Ted Winterer absent. There was no additional discussion about the project at Wednesday night's meeting.

The new structure would be 8,084 square feet in size, 34 feet in height and feature 75 feet of street frontage. A Development Review Permit is needed for any new development that would feature at least 7,500 square feet of floor area.

Also on Wednesday night, the commission approved a project Use Permit, which is required if a promenade building would feature frontage beyond 50 feet on its first floor.

The new Apple store would be even more transparent than the promenade's , with a massive glass façade in the front and glass panels stretching across the top of the structure.

With the construction of the new one-story building, the existing three-story building at 1415 Third St., which was built in 1984, is due to be demolished. In a planning commission report, city staff determined that "The new building will be compatible with and relate harmoniously to surrounding sites."

Staff also found that the project would be consistent with the "in that the LUCE Downtown District land use designation supports the area as a thriving, mixed-use urban environment for people to live, work, be entertained and be culturally enriched."

Final plans for design will have to be approved by the Architectural Review Board.

The project's senior planner is Tony Kim. The property at 1415 Third St. is owned by ASB/Blatteis Promenade Holdings, LLC.

Also, the new Apple store is planning a voluntary Transportation Demand Management program to encourage store employees to travel to and from the store by alternative modes of transportation. Each month, employees would be offered a $100 transit subsidy, as well as a $20 reimbursement for bicycle repairs. In the basement, the store would feature bike parking for employees.