BY ALLISON LEVITSKY
Daily Post Staff Writer
The five-year-old Apple store in downtown Palo Alto is set to close starting Mother’s Day for a $6.6 million renovation, according to the company’s website.
The renovation is set to include a new video wall, a new ceiling in the back of the store and a reconfigured second floor. The basement will be reinforced to support the weight of the video wall, according to permits filed with the city of Palo Alto.
The store is only blocks from the home of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has appeared there for product launches.
The blog 9to5Mac reported on April 23 that the renovation is part of the company’s strategy to bring all of its more than 500 stores into the “Today at Apple” era, in which stores offer daily classes on using Apple products.
The store — the ninth in the world when it opened in October 2001 — moved to its current location at 340 University Ave. from down the street in October 2012, according to 9to5Mac.
The store cost $3.15 million to build and was designed by the architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, 9to5Mac reported.
It’d be nice if they found an alternative to the unaesthetic bollards in front of the store. They are an ugly reminder of the idiots in the world who would drive cars through store windows to steal things, usually forgetting their license plates or entire vehicles.
But Palo Alto is the world capital of unaesthetic bollards. Just drive down most of our streets where we have tens of millions of dollars to waste on road furniture and other obstacles that slow down through traffic. At least here they’re doing something useful.