New Apple campus $2 billion over budget, report says
The estimated cost of Apple’s new campus in Cupertino, Calif., has skyrocketed from $3 billion to $5 billion over the last two years, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had previously said the completion of the campus had been delayed from 2015 to 2016. The Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, said part of the reason for the delay was that Apple was working with its architect, Foster + Partners, to cut $1 billion off the cost.
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The huge cost overrun is due to many of the extravagant features that cofounder Steve Jobs wanted for the new headquarters.
These include ensuring no seam or gap be visible on the building, using an expensive maple wood for the interior, and using large, curved glass panels for the windows that would have to be made in Germany and shipped to California.
In addition, the landscaping plans call for 309 varieties of trees, as well as digging up 1,000 trees currently on the site and storing them at a nursery during construction and replanting them later.
The company hopes to begin demolition this summer of the current buildings on the site, which it bought from Hewlett-Packard. But Bloomberg reported that Apple may face challenges lining up all the subcontractors it needs due to the current building boom in Silicon Valley, which includes new campuses for tech giants Samsung, Google and Facebook, as well as a new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers.
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