Apple reveals 369,000 sf slice of Westside plan

Project application sketches plans for one of two office buildings for regional campus

Apple CEO Tim Cook & planned Culver City Apple Campus (Apple Maps, Getty Images)
Apple CEO Tim Cook & planned Culver City Apple Campus (Apple Maps, Getty Images)

Apple has begun sketching out its ambitions for a regional campus that will straddle the boundary of Los Angeles and Culver City, shedding light on some of the details on one of two buildings expected there.

On Thursday an Apple representative filed an application with the Los Angeles City Planning Department for construction of a 369,000 square-foot structure. It would be a “4 to 5 story” office building — between 56 and 75 feet tall — and include three levels of underground parking. The application includes plans to demolish several existing structures on the Westside site.

The project applicant was Melissa Schild, the company’s senior director of global real estate, space planning and site services. Schild filed the plans through an LLC called Culver Crossings Properties.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plans offer more details on the new campus for Apple, which already bases its streaming operation at a nearby location in Culver City. The tech giant moved into the neighborhood in 2014, and agreed in 2018 to lease an entire 128,000 square-foot building at 8777 Washington Boulevard, taking over a space that had been slotted for HBO.

But as Apple’s profits have soared — thanks recently to the pandemic boost to Big Tech in general and sales of its branded iPhone in particular — so have the company’s SoCal plans. Last month, after buying up an entire block near its leased Culver City site, the company announced it planned to develop more than 550,000 square feet of office space for a new Southern California headquarters. The announcement came about a year after Apple bought the properties for $162 million in a deal with Venice Pacific Investments.

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The new campus — which touches the Westside thoroughfares of National, Venice and Washington Boulevards — will include two separate buildings that are connected by “a shared wall,” the company has said.

The plans for the building indicate it will make up the bulk of the office space — the project application for 369,000-square-foot would account for two thirds of the overall project as announced.

Apple has also previously said it plans to dramatically scale up its Culver City workforce, to more than 3,000 employees, by 2026.

The application included five addresses on West National and West Venice boulevards. It was unclear when Apple will file the application for the additional, smaller building.

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