Apple scraps plans for first Australian 'global flagship' store
Apple has shelved plans to build its first global flagship retail store in Australia, as heritage authority officials effectively blocked development of the proposed Federation Square site by declining a demolition permit application.
Rendering of Apple's proposed Federation Square store.
Apple in a statement to the The Sydney Morning Herald confirmed it will no longer pursue the Melbourne project, which called for the demolition of Federation Square's Yarra Building.
"We remain committed to serving our customers in Melbourne and across Australia," an Apple spokesperson said.
Heritage Victoria, a government body in charge of administering cultural heritage regulations in the state, handed down a refusal to Federation Square management's application for demolition on Friday, the report said. In its ruling, the authority found Apple's proposed structure would be "visually dominant," adding that the removal of the Yarra Building would diminish the space.
Since announcing its intent to build a flagship store in Federation Square in late 2017, Apple has experienced major pushback from government officials, advocacy groups and the public at large. The location, with its museums, art galleries and eateries, is widely recognized as one of the most important cultural hubs in Melbourne. Apple's outlet would be the first retail space in the complex.
Apple attempted to address public concerns by revising the store's design to better complement surrounding structures, but opposition to the project persisted unabated.
In a move designed to halt Apple's plans, the National Trust last August nominated Federation Square to the Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria subsequently issued an Interim Protection Order under the Victoria State Government's Heritage Act of 2017, prohibiting development of the site for at least four months.
Federation Square attempted to force the issue by applying for a permit to demolish the Yarra Building in December, a proposal quashed by today's ruling.
The development marks the third major setback for Apple's retail team in the last two months. In February, Apple saw its bid to build a store in Stockholm's Kungstradgarden blocked by public and government resistance, while mall owners in Israel earlier this month rejected financial terms for an outlet to be built in Tel Aviv.
Rendering of Apple's proposed Federation Square store.Apple in a statement to the The Sydney Morning Herald confirmed it will no longer pursue the Melbourne project, which called for the demolition of Federation Square's Yarra Building.
"We remain committed to serving our customers in Melbourne and across Australia," an Apple spokesperson said.
Heritage Victoria, a government body in charge of administering cultural heritage regulations in the state, handed down a refusal to Federation Square management's application for demolition on Friday, the report said. In its ruling, the authority found Apple's proposed structure would be "visually dominant," adding that the removal of the Yarra Building would diminish the space.
Since announcing its intent to build a flagship store in Federation Square in late 2017, Apple has experienced major pushback from government officials, advocacy groups and the public at large. The location, with its museums, art galleries and eateries, is widely recognized as one of the most important cultural hubs in Melbourne. Apple's outlet would be the first retail space in the complex.
Apple attempted to address public concerns by revising the store's design to better complement surrounding structures, but opposition to the project persisted unabated.
In a move designed to halt Apple's plans, the National Trust last August nominated Federation Square to the Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria subsequently issued an Interim Protection Order under the Victoria State Government's Heritage Act of 2017, prohibiting development of the site for at least four months.
Federation Square attempted to force the issue by applying for a permit to demolish the Yarra Building in December, a proposal quashed by today's ruling.
The development marks the third major setback for Apple's retail team in the last two months. In February, Apple saw its bid to build a store in Stockholm's Kungstradgarden blocked by public and government resistance, while mall owners in Israel earlier this month rejected financial terms for an outlet to be built in Tel Aviv.
Comments
Apple, if you're reading this, if you want to open a bigger store in Canberra, I'd be willing to go there. And at least a few hundred other people would, too...
Just don't put it in Perth. No-one wants to go to Perth.
But, hey, if the people or community there wants to preserve something just for the sake of preserving it, even if it's ugly, and not have an Apple store, then that's their choice.
Aaaaanyway. I don’t think that embarrassing eyesore (is there anything as bullshit as “heritage listing” classifications?) known as Federation Square deserves anything as tasteful as an Apple Store.
and yeah, Apple should just give Victoristan the middle finger and go to a place where enterprise and entrepreneurship still gets respect. Queensland.
So Melbourne people kept telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us. And telling us.
hmm, got me there!
I will get over it though. I never said I don’t like visiting Melbourne. I just find it funny how much you lot seem to think you are better than everyone else, and keep having to tell us about it, like deep down you know it isn’t true. You know, a chip on your shoulder.
Here is a little story. One of Mrs Entropy friends is this Melbourne girl, well she grew up in Toorak. Wonderful girl, married this pommy stockbroker. Anyway we went to the wedding, which was at some cathedral in Glen Iris, followed by the reception in grandma’s ballroom. And a fine time was had by all.
Anyway, at our table was a bunch of nurses, one of whom had done a stint at Concorde hospital in Sydney. She as complaining about the people there. She said “and when I told them I was from Melbourne, it was like they didn’t care, as if it wasn’t important!”
Most of the table commiserated, while Mrs Entropy was kicking me under the table to stop me laughing. Good times.
As a Pittsburgh native I witnessed how much of Pittsburgh history was cleared away to make way for new-and-improved steel and glass (much like this proposed Apple store) renovation. That history can never be recovered.
One of the areas was "millionaires row" -- where Pittsburgh industrial barons built their mansions just prior to the invention of the automobile very near the city. Those beautiful, handcrafted mansions were almost entirely cleared out and/or gutted to make way for "progress". It is a sad loss...
Something can be historic and worth preserving while bringing in money. But, once destroyed, that historic thing can never be replaced.
I loved Pittsburgh! CMU graduate. But let me ask you, if millionaires row was so precious, why didn’t you or someone else think to buy some of the houses?
My years in school there in the early ‘80s were wonderful. But for many natives they were the dark days of high jobless rates after the last of the steel mills shut down. If a company offers to come in proffering construction jobs and then permanent jobs in the new buildings, I’d be hesitant to trash that company and turn those jobs away.
Nobody was turning down jobs.*
And fortunately many of those old structures were simply boarded up and are, today, being renovated (not gutted) under the direction of the historical society and brought up to modern standards while retaining all of their original artistry and charm.
* If you're comparing it to the Cortez/Amazon fiasco in NY, there is no connection there. Totally different.