Apple Store

[ChesterCopperpot]

They may as well just say

"Here's what we found on Urban Toronto"

 

[ShonTron]

They may as well just say

"Here's what we found on Urban Toronto"

Then it just wouldn't be BlogTO.

 

[MetroMan]

Not that we needed much more confirmation but I’ve just heard from an Apple Genius that at Eaton Centre they’ve been told as a team 6 weeks ago that the new Apple Store at Bloor and Yonge (at The One) will open in 2 years and that they’ll have the option to move there while the existing store is renovated at Eaton Centre.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Not that we needed much more confirmation but I’ve just heard from an Apple Genius that at Eaton Centre they’ve been told as a team 6 weeks ago that the new Apple Store at Bloor and Yonge (at The One) will open in 2 years and that they’ll have the option to move there while the existing store is renovated at Eaton Centre.

I found it very, very hard to believe that anyone at employed at Apple and not in the capacity to speak on behalf of the company will know, much less speak of such plans.

AoD

 

[steveve]

^ Nice. My biggest takeaway from that tip is the 2-years part. If true, that would definitely allude to an early opening of the store ahead of the targeted completion date of The One. Maybe by that they mean 2020 = end of 2020. Still quick though.

 

[PinkLucy]

I found it very, very hard to believe that anyone at employed at Apple and not in the capacity to speak on behalf of the company will know, much less speak of such plans.

AoD

They probably read about it here

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

They probably read about it here

Or from BlogTO

AoD

 

[MetroMan]

They probably read about it here

Or from BlogTO

AoD

Neither.

I know that Apple has a history of being extremely secretive — though it has significantly opened up under Tim Cook — but I was told that morale at the Eaton Centre Store is very low because of the huge demand of the entirety of downtown Toronto being placed on a single small mall store. The story was coming out anyway and whispered amongst staff, so management came clean: hang on, a new store is coming in 2 years and you all have first dibs on moving to the new flagship when it opens.

 

[ardwold1]

I feel as though next to none of those people are going to still be there in 2 years, lol.

 

[MetroMan]

I feel as though next to none of those people are going to still be there in 2 years, lol.

You'd be surprised. I know of at least 3 employees who have been there since around the time the Apple Store first opened at Eaton Centre. I bought a 2008 MacBookPro from one of them who I saw there yesterday. But overall, the turnover at that store is much higher than average because of that low morale. Usually, kids work at an Apple Store all through college and those who work as Geniuses stay because the pay can actually get quite good. So yes, I can see why that particular Apple Store would want to convene a meeting to tell its employees to sit tight because relief is coming. Tell any Apple employee that they need a new store and 9 out of 10 times, they'll open up. It's a sore point.

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

2 years .... good luck

 

[innsertnamehere]

I was going to say. They will be lucky to have their store poured in concrete in 2 years, yet alone open.

 

[Tolis]

I feel as though next to none of those people are going to still be there in 2 years, lol.

2 year 2 x 365 day

 

[Skeezix]

2 years .... good luck

I was going to say. They will be lucky to have their store poured in concrete in 2 years, yet alone open.

I know this comparison is somewhat apples and oranges, but in February 2010 Aura was starting construction activities, and two years later the retail in the podium was not close to opening.

 

[MetroMan]

Mizrahi himself said that they planned to open the retail before the tower was complete.

Let’s say it takes a year to dig the hole and build it to above podium level. That would be a really long time for a building with comparatively shallow lower levels but to be safe, a year to have the retail shell ready to go.

As we know, once a podium is built, towers fly up very quickly. While the tower rises, work can begin inside the Apple Store.

A year of building floors at a very doable 1.5 floors per week would top off the tower in 12 months with cladding having started to climb alongside it.

Now, I don’t think Apple would open under a heavily under construction tower but if it’s topped off and cladding is completed far above the Apple Store, I don’t see why Apple would need to wait for residential units to be ready which would take another year but would happen out of sight. From what I understand, staging is happening behind the building, not on Bloor or Yonge.

Nonetheless, Apple employees at Eaton Centre were told 2 years but I don’t necessarily expect that to be exactly 24 months. It could mean some time in 2020 which people would loosely say is 2 years from 2018 even if it opens several month into the year. For what it’s worth, Apple tends to open stores in the Fall ahead of Holiday shopping. My bet is on late September, 2020. By then, The One will be fully topped off and clad but still a year or so away from completion.