Long-standing fountain snags Apple's San Francisco store plans
Two weeks ago, we were greeted with the news that Apple was planning to move the Apple Store at the corner of Stockton and Ellis Streets in San Francisco to a new flagship facility to be located in the city's Union Square retail area. Now things aren't as rosy for the future of the new store, with critics being upset with the proposed design of the structure and the fate of a fountain behind the location.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has said that he would be taking another look at the plans to see if the fountain "would or would not complement Apple's proposal for a raised narrow plaza between its store and the Grand Hyatt," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Other complaints include an 80-foot-long blank wall facing Stockton Street, which apparently caught flak from city officials during the initial discussions about the plans. Apple was, according to the Chronicle, "very receptive" to those concerns. The project is by no means in "shovel ready" condition; it also needs to pass muster by the city's planning and historic preservation commissions.
The 1970s vintage fountain -- seen in the image at top -- is on property owned by the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, which has noted that "it's too premature" to address whether Apple's proposal will require changes.
