Apple finishes work on Buildings 3 and 4 of expanding Austin campus
Photos published on Monday show the progress of Apple's new campus in Austin, Texas, which once it's completed in 2016 will reportedly be the company's second-largest office complex, spanning 38 acres and 1.1 million square feet of office space.
Buildings 3 and 4 were recently completed, and three more are under construction, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The complex will have a raft of amenities to keep people on-campus and working, including restaurants, smoothie and coffee bars, two saunas, and a fully-equipped gym including weightlifting equipment.
As at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, the facility will also have a "Wellness Center" with medical, dental, and eye services, and even tertiary options like massage and acupuncture.
The company has had a substantial presence in Austin for years, but in 2012 pledged to spend $304 million on expanding operations and ultimately hiring an extra 3,635 workers. In exchange, city and state governments promised to pump taxpayer money into the project as long as certain hiring and spending deadlines were met.
Apple's Austin offices are located off West Parmer Lane, in northwest Austin. Many high-tech businesses now have a presence in that part of the city, such as Google and Qualcomm. A chief Mac competitor, Dell, is headquartered a few minutes north in Round Rock, and A-series processors are manufactured at a Samsung factory to the east.
Beyond the new campus, Apple has bought a 350,000-square foot space it was previously leasing, and it has a lease on a separate 216,000-square foot location. There are two Apple Stores in the city.
Buildings 3 and 4 were recently completed, and three more are under construction, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The complex will have a raft of amenities to keep people on-campus and working, including restaurants, smoothie and coffee bars, two saunas, and a fully-equipped gym including weightlifting equipment.
As at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, the facility will also have a "Wellness Center" with medical, dental, and eye services, and even tertiary options like massage and acupuncture.
The company has had a substantial presence in Austin for years, but in 2012 pledged to spend $304 million on expanding operations and ultimately hiring an extra 3,635 workers. In exchange, city and state governments promised to pump taxpayer money into the project as long as certain hiring and spending deadlines were met.
Apple's Austin offices are located off West Parmer Lane, in northwest Austin. Many high-tech businesses now have a presence in that part of the city, such as Google and Qualcomm. A chief Mac competitor, Dell, is headquartered a few minutes north in Round Rock, and A-series processors are manufactured at a Samsung factory to the east.
Beyond the new campus, Apple has bought a 350,000-square foot space it was previously leasing, and it has a lease on a separate 216,000-square foot location. There are two Apple Stores in the city.
Comments
So the IL complex will soon be the old rustic site where the flunkies go?
Dell is a competitor?
HAHAHA! Yes. Michael Dell still wants to shut it all down and give the money back to the shareholders. Or in his case, buy it back and give $13.88 per share back to the shareholders.
Must be nice. We had none of this at Apple during the early iMac days and beyond.
Those were the dark times. Apple was clawing its way back from the brink of bankruptcy, no?
*~ SnOrT~*
We have a few things like this at work but frankly why would you want to use such things at work? I leave the building for lunch most days and would rather get my exercise outside (at least when it isn't raining). Sometimes the refreshing of the soul does more for productivity than staying in an office complex all night and day.
We have a few things like this at work but frankly why would you want to use such things at work? I leave the building for lunch most days and would rather get my exercise outside (at least when it isn't raining). Sometimes the refreshing of the soul does more for productivity than staying in an office complex all night and day.
The whole point of free and/or high quality cafeteria food, games, health clubs and other amenities on campus is to keep employees there. If I'm working a long day, I'm going to be too tired to go exercise when I finally leave, but I might want to take a break in the late afternoon to use the gym (as long as there are also showers). Also, employees who are hired directly out of school are used to many of these amenities and they want a similar experience. Same for employees from other tech firms who are recruited by Apple.
I think this obsession with keeping employees working long hours is somewhat misguided as long hours don't necessarily lead to efficiency or productivity. I know people who accomplish in five hours what others accomplish in a week. But it's become this macho requirement to put in killer hours in tech firms, just as it is in law and consulting firms.