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Apple to Build Second Campus

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the iexpand dept.

Randy writes "Apple plans to expand dramatically in Cupertino by constructing a second major campus, one mile from Infinite Loop. Lamenting the fact that 'there aren't many apricot orchards left' upon which to build a new campus, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that Apple nevertheless managed to do the trick by purchasing several contiguous properties." From the article: "The maker of Macintosh computers and iPod digital music players will house 3,000 to 3,500 employees in the new campus, about 10 minutes away from its headquarters on Infinite Loop in Cupertino. Jobs estimated that it will take three to four years to design and build the new campus."

7 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. California business baffles me.... by otis+wildflower · · Score: 2, Insightful

    .. I mean why, in this day and age, would someone choose to enlarge business in CA? With costs of everything sky-high, traffic, smog, and the punishing taxes, I just don't see it.

    I mean, except for the nice weather, surfing and scantily-clad girls...

    Granted, relocating _everything_ may not wash in the overall cost/benefit analysis, but I don't see why anyone would choose to start a business any larger than a dorm room or off-campus house in CA.

    Frankly, if I were creating a 'real' business (which involved more people than could comfortably fit in my dining room), why shouldn't I do it in Nevada, which has _no_ corporate income tax (or individual income tax for that matter)?

    1. Re:California business baffles me.... by jandrese · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because then you need to go to the client's (or sponsors) building for something and you're out in Nevada when they're all in California. Jobs rightly pointed out that they could have picked up a lot of land much cheaper if they moved further away, but they wanted their new campus to be within spitting distance of the old one.

      No matter how good your VTC solutions and phone system are, there are some things that just have to be done in person.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    2. Re:California business baffles me.... by Dis*abstraction · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Access to top-flight talent. Ease of meeting face-to-face with business partners. No matter how good telecommunications may get, it will never be quite as good as physical presence. After all, you can choose to videoconference even if you're only one room apart, but the opposite isn't true--you can't simulate physical presence with a telecom link.

      Ask yourself why corporate headquarters continue popping up in New York, and nowadays are even moving back. Like the mayor says, from a business perspective, the city is a luxury good. Economies of scale, scope, and agglomeration outweigh the increased tax burden. Same as always.

      --
      Bonsai Kitten: TNG
    3. Re:California business baffles me.... by dgatwood · · Score: 3, Insightful
      They're not enlarging (right now). They're consolidating---moving from something like 35 rented/leased properties to one owned property. It's a lot cheaper to move thousands of existing employees to a new facility across a town than it is to try to convince them to move to another state (and try to replace everyone who said "no").

      Besides... the higher density obtained by not leasing a bunch of one and two story buildings should free up a lot of those smaller office buildings to be leveled by their owners for future condo projects like the one across the street from Apple.... :-)

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  2. Re:Think Different. We need cheap housing first. by dhowells · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Finding it too expensive to live in your area? As Thatcher said, 'On your bike'. Sure, accommodation costs more in areas where jobs pay higher wages -- that is the result of market mechanisms ensuring that the value of the exchange medium (dollars) is constant accross the economy. If you think that the rest of the country has cheaper houses, and reasonable wages, then why don't you enrich yourself by moving there?

    --
    use Blunt::Instrument;
  3. Re:Good ol' California traffic by fm6 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Dude, most Americans will get in the car to avoid walking across a parking lot! That's why most new malls in this country no longer have internal walkways.

    I used to have a job about a mile from my house. I'd usually walk to work. All my co-workers thought I was very strange. And before you say, "lazy Americans" note that many of my co-workers were Asian immigrants.

  4. Re:Think Different. We need cheap housing first. by tonydiesel · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Argh... if you watch the video, you'll hear that the land was already zoned for commercial use. It isn't like they bought land that was going to be used for housing and are going to convert it. They're going to be building on land that is already used for commercial purposes.