Apple still owns rights to Sweden Kungstradgarden plot, could revive store plans

Posted:
in General Discussion edited November 2018
Although public opposition appears to have defeated the company for now, there is a chance Apple could still make an attempt at a store in Stockholm's historic Kungstradgarden, according to one report.

A render of Apple's Kungstradgarden concept.
A render of Apple's Kungstradgarden concept.


The company still owns the building rights for its intended plot, The Guardian observed on Thursday. Stockholm's new city council recently vowed that it would block Apple attempts to go ahead with a proposed outlet, reflecting large-scale public backlash.

The store has been opposed not just by the general public, but conservation groups and even some government organizations like Stockholm's Beauty Council. The city has received approximately 1,800 public responses, nearly all of them against Apple's plans.

Some complaints have included the fact that Apple would be blocking Kungstradgarden's north entrance, and that it would be commercializing a space often used for public events. Apple has said it would host its own events, including concerts, but these would likely fall under the "Today at Apple" banner.

A deeper concern, The Guardian noted, is the surrender of public space. Apple's shop would replace a TGI Fridays, but latter is there only because of an arrangement allowing private development for restaurants and cafes serving the park. In Apple's case the city would have to rezone for retail, effectively transferring land from the public to the private sector. Apple would annex 375 square meters (about 4,036 square feet) of the park around the plot it owns rights for.

"It is welcome that Apple wants to establish itself in the city," said Christian Democrat politician Erik Slottner. "But Kungstradgarden is the wrong place."

Apple's retail vision has come into conflict with public realities numerous times in the past. This July the company was forced to abandon its original design for a shop in Melbourne, Australia after people complained it looked like a Pizza Hut and didn't match surrounding buildings.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    Why in the world did this routine article require an ALERT to pop up on my Mac screen? Can we please restrict alerts to major stories and breaking news?
    Scot1caladaniansvanstrom
  • Reply 2 of 10
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member
    This is equivalent of putting an Apple Store on the National Mall in Washington DC.
    Scot1
  • Reply 3 of 10
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,928administrator
    Why in the world did this routine article require an ALERT to pop up on my Mac screen? Can we please restrict alerts to major stories and breaking news?
    That's an opt-in Safari notification. Every story gets one since about January. They are manageable, but in an on/off mode only.

    https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/06/22/how-to-manage-safari-notifications-in-macos-high-sierra-and-mojave
    edited November 2018
  • Reply 4 of 10
    JFC_PAJFC_PA Posts: 947member
    ivlad said:
    This is equivalent of putting an Apple Store on the National Mall in Washington DC.
    But only were there a TGI Fridays there to be replaced.... Maybe Apple could mitigate by having people run around the store at Thursday midnight in celebration?

    it does seem that , tacky precedent aside, a space exempted for food providers was always a mistake to be considered for a retail replacement. Apple should graciously step aside and let KFC or Taco Bell shoulder the project. 
    edited November 2018 patchythepirate
  • Reply 5 of 10
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,147member
    That's not a bad looking entry, they just need to bury it more and put a performance area on top.
    caladanian
  • Reply 6 of 10
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,731member
    If it was zoned for retail and Apple bought it for new retail space and then the city changes its mind and blocks Apple from building a retail building, is the city responsible for the lost land value that Apple will experience? If Apple has to sell the land for half the purchase price will the city pay the difference?
  • Reply 7 of 10
    JFC_PAJFC_PA Posts: 947member
    mknelson said:
    That's not a bad looking entry, they just need to bury it more and put a performance area on top.
    Yes, given the exemption was for food services they’d need to retreat from the surface intrusion to have any chance. Return the footprint, even if perhaps a bit elevated, to being fully connected to the open space use of the park. 

    Or simply acknowledge it was a long shot given the site use restrictions and move on. 
    edited November 2018
  • Reply 8 of 10
    I'm not sure if Apple knew what they were getting themself into when they planed this store. The Kungsträdgården plaza is a rare place uniting the progressive left with the conservative right. In the 60s Stockholm Council wanted to cut down threes to build a Subway-entrancem which was met with wild protests. Basicaly the peak of Sweden's 68-movement. This is one thing everyone in Stockholm knows I would guess many people suport the idea that the plaza is holly and should remain unchanged. I was at the public consultation (townhall?) of the most recent concept of the Store, and people were really furious! their opinion was mostly that this idea is something only the rich people want, which is quite ironic since it later was the conservative right that vowed to block the plans. They generaly don't like anything new or tall, and what the town to have a classic look while the left don't want the plaza to be commercialized. At the consultation a left activist actually had digged up the original permit fot TGI Friday that unfortunaly said that the place can only be a resturant or a cafe. At this point I think it would be very hard for Apple to continue with their plans. But I hope they try to build a underground shop like the one in 5th Avenue or Shanghai. In that way they can remove the TGI building and make the plaza more open and would not block the view from the street. This would of course be more expensive for Apple and frankly I think they would sell more if people had a clearer look of the shop. 
    patchythepiratesvanstrom
  • Reply 9 of 10
    I'm not sure if Apple knew what they were getting themself into when they planed this store. The Kungsträdgården plaza is a rare place uniting the progressive left with the conservative right. In the 60s Stockholm Council wanted to cut down threes to build a Subway-entrancem which was met with wild protests. Basicaly the peak of Sweden's 68-movement. This is one thing everyone in Stockholm knows I would guess many people suport the idea that the plaza is holly and should remain unchanged. I was at the public consultation (townhall?) of the most recent concept of the Store, and people were really furious! their opinion was mostly that this idea is something only the rich people want, which is quite ironic since it later was the conservative right that vowed to block the plans. They generaly don't like anything new or tall, and what the town to have a classic look while the left don't want the plaza to be commercialized. At the consultation a left activist actually had digged up the original permit fot TGI Friday that unfortunaly said that the place can only be a resturant or a cafe. At this point I think it would be very hard for Apple to continue with their plans. But I hope they try to build a underground shop like the one in 5th Avenue or Shanghai. In that way they can remove the TGI building and make the plaza more open and would not block the view from the street. This would of course be more expensive for Apple and frankly I think they would sell more if people had a clearer look of the shop. 
    Thank you for that excellent info and insights.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    I'm not sure if Apple knew what they were getting themself into when they planed this store. The Kungsträdgården plaza is a rare place uniting the progressive left with the conservative right. In the 60s Stockholm Council wanted to cut down threes to build a Subway-entrancem which was met with wild protests. Basicaly the peak of Sweden's 68-movement. This is one thing everyone in Stockholm knows I would guess many people suport the idea that the plaza is holly and should remain unchanged. I was at the public consultation (townhall?) of the most recent concept of the Store, and people were really furious! their opinion was mostly that this idea is something only the rich people want, which is quite ironic since it later was the conservative right that vowed to block the plans. They generaly don't like anything new or tall, and what the town to have a classic look while the left don't want the plaza to be commercialized. At the consultation a left activist actually had digged up the original permit fot TGI Friday that unfortunaly said that the place can only be a resturant or a cafe. At this point I think it would be very hard for Apple to continue with their plans. But I hope they try to build a underground shop like the one in 5th Avenue or Shanghai. In that way they can remove the TGI building and make the plaza more open and would not block the view from the street. This would of course be more expensive for Apple and frankly I think they would sell more if people had a clearer look of the shop. 
    Well, if they’d gotten away with it it would have been a flagship store winning awards for its beauty; and I’m guessing the politicians at the time were quite “sure, buddy, I love Apple and will make this happen”.

    Probably the politicians were more naive than Apple.

    But...

    I really wish Apple had been more sensitive to the history of the area before they tried to take too much of an advantage of it to make their store look its best (in an “in your face”-type of a way); because done right Apple really could have made the whole area better, and now they’re instead faced with dealing with people out of principle fighting anything but a food business replacing that TGIF eyesore.
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