Apple Proposes New Block-Long Retail Store in Portland, Oregon

ifoAppleStore reports that architects quite obviously working for Apple have put forward a design proposal for a new retail store at the Pioneer Place shopping center in downtown Portland, Oregon. Replacing a typical mall-style store inside the center, the new store would cover the length of a city block and at 165 feet would carry the longest storefront in Apple's retail store chain.

According to the Design Advice Request submitted by two architects from Apple’s architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the Apple store would have a 165-foot storefront, a 17½-foot tall interior and over 9,000 square-feet of public space. A notation on one drawing indicates the “gross square footage” of the entire project is 23,532, and the plaza totals 4,283 square-feet.

Currently, the widest storefront is George Street (Sydney) at 120 feet. This proposed store would be 45 feet wider than that. The elevation drawing shows that the storefront is composed of 22 glass panels, each 17½ feet tall and 7½ feet wide.

The lengthy storefront and the ten-foot wide public plaza fronting the space would give the store a significant presence at the shopping center, with ample space for pedestrian circulation inside and out.

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mrxak

83 months ago

Apple does a lot of research before they put their stores in. If they're building one this large, they must know they can fill it. Apple isn't Starbucks, carpet-bombing cities with a store on every block hoping to do enough business, they pick and choose their locations very carefully to ensure each one is profitable. Apple Stores have some of the best return on square footage around.

It's not a matter of quantity of product lines, it's a matter of quantity of people wanting to see those product lines.

Rating: 4 Votes

akira2501

83 months ago

Honestly they need it. Because that's the first store over the border from Washington, it is really really really really crowded. Actually alot of people even just visiting buy from there because there's no taxes on anything in Portland. So you save like 200 plus on MacBooks and stuff which lets you get accessories for free

Rating: 3 Votes

Bearxor

83 months ago

I heard Portland is getting a Gateway Country Store soon as well.

THE DREAM OF THE 90's IS ALIVE IN PORTLAND!

Rating: 3 Votes

flux73

83 months ago

All to house Apple's 5 products no less. A museum of waste.
Portland is always talking their "Human Scale" and "Walkable small blocks".
I am referring to the downtown core. I lived in Portland for some years in the 90's. They are very small. Maybe 30 paces math man.,

Um, I think it's more to accommodate the foot traffic. Visitor who come to Portland for tax-free shopping excursions are most likely to go to the downtown location. A visible street-level store will probably drive even more shoppers. Good for the neighborhood stores as well as Apple.

For this to be waste, there would have to be a much better alternative use of this space. What's your proposal?

Rating: 3 Votes

goodfellaNW

83 months ago

I heard Portland is getting a Gateway Country Store soon as well.

THE DREAM OF THE 90's IS ALIVE IN PORTLAND!

As a Portlander, I take complete offense to your statement. I'd much rather see a collaboration between Packard Bell and Prodigy than a Gateway store. ;)

Rating: 2 Votes

01blu-gsr

83 months ago

Portland city blocks are half the size of normal big city blocks. So it should not be seen as HUGE. Get's a good headline though. 10-20 paces clears a block in PDX.

However, as reference points,the standard square blocks of Portland, Houston and Sacramento are 260 by 260 feet (79 × 79 m), 330 by 330 feet (100 × 100 m) and 410 by 410 feet (120 × 120 m) respectively (to the street center line). (However, as reference points,the standard square blocks of Portland, Houston and Sacramento are 260 by 260 feet (79 × 79 m), 330 by 330 feet (100 × 100 m) and 410 by 410 feet (120 × 120 m) respectively (to the street center line).)

Granted on average PDX blocks are not on the largest side of "city blocks", I would like to see you clear one in 10 to 20 paces.

This would still be the widest Apple store to date.
"Currently, the widest storefront is George Street (Sydney) at 120 feet. This proposed store would be 45 feet wider than that."http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2012/02/28/apple-proposes-spectacular-store-for-portland/ (http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2012/02/28/apple-proposes-spectacular-store-for-portland/)

So this would be a wide store in when talking Apple Stores.

Rating: 2 Votes

guspasho

83 months ago

I live there now and I can tell you they need to expand at that location. The current store is *always* packed to the gills, it's a claustrophobe's nightmare.

Rating: 1 Votes

craig45

83 months ago

I'm afraid this will be seen as corporate greed and targeted by the Take Over Portland mob. Targeted, after they hide their iPhones and iPods!

Rating: 1 Votes

Schmitty11

83 months ago

That's a lot of Windex :rolleyes::p

Rating: 1 Votes

mcdermd

83 months ago

Although I wonder what this will do to the full-service authorized resellers that have been among Apple's strongest third-party resellers for decades?

Some are already gone (MacForce) and others have sucked since the 1990s ("Computer Stores NW" AKA "The Mac Store" AKA "PowerMax"). Okay, on the sucking I can only relate my own experiences with their Corvallis store. They were THE place for computers (Apple and others) in the 1980s. These days I just hear their sales staff giving incorrect information and their repair staff seems to know less than I do (now waiting for Genius Bar jokes).

I'm not crying too hard for them.

Rating: 1 Votes

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