Two weeks ago, plans for Apple to move its flagship retail store in San Francisco a couple blocks away to a new space in Union Square was met with a lot of positivity from politicians and city planners, and it seemed like a done deal. But perhaps not, because apparently, Apple’s plans for the new Apple Store also involve ripping up a beloved fountain currently on the same spot.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Apple’s current plan for the new Retail Store doesn’t include any space for a bronze fountain by artist Ruth Asawa near the Grand Hyatt hotel. Locals are concerned that Apple intends on tearing the fountain up, or hiding it from view entirely, and that’s got politicians as high up the food chain as mayor Ed Lee rethinking their support of the plan.
“We weren’t necessarily focused on that side,” said Lee, who claimed he needs “to take a look and visualize” how the fountain would fit into Apple’s proposal. In addition, Apple’s plans call for an 80-foot-long blank wall on one side of the new retail location, alongside Stockton Street. There are concerns about that wall, presumably for aesthetic reasons, or just because it could be a juicy target for vandalism.
There’s plenty of time for these concerns to be ironed out, and Apple’s plan still needs to pass through reviews by the city’s planning and historic preservation commissions to get approval. But if Apple intends on building their next retail store in Union Square, they might have to fight for it.
Source: SF Chronicle
