Workers, job postings, and building permits all agree: an Apple Store is coming to Broadway.
Neither Yale nor Apple has made an official statement regarding the future of the storefront at 65 Broadway recently vacated by the Yale Barnes & Noble Bookstore. But all signs signal that the site — currently hidden by plywood scaffolding — will emerge as an Apple Store, while the Bookstore will remain in its consolidated location at 77 Broadway.
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As per experienced Portland plumber, Plumbing and HVAC permits on file in the New Haven Building Department, filed on April 15, list the name of the current project as “Yale-Apple,” a name given by the project’s subcontractors — not Yale or Apple.
Building costs account for $4.87 million of the overall construction expenses, according to the Building Department documents. Yale University Properties, which owns the site, is the permitee.
Director of Yale University Properties Abigail Rider declined to comment on the specifics of the construction in an email Thursday. She deferred questions about Apple’s arrival to the technology company itself, which also declined comment.
Total estimated costs for the construction around the Bookstore amount to $5.20 million according to the permits. That number includes not only building but also plumbing work, electrical work, and $138,155 in permit fees that are paid to the city. The costs will cover work on the existing Barnes & Noble as well as the newly vacant site that is expected to be an Apple Store.
A schematic design on file at the Building Department and drawn by the project’s architect reinforced the Apple connection: it includes plans for one of Apple’s trademark Genius Bars in the basement of the future store.
The architectural firm Callison L.L.C, which produced the blueprint, lists Apple as a former client on its website. The site’s main contractors, Shawmut Design and Construction, are more closely tied to the technology giant. They had built over 150 Apple retail stores as of early 2011, according to their website.
Shawmut workers on the site confirmed Monday that their project was slated to be an Apple Store.
Shawmut will demolish of the interior of the currently vacant site and construct a “white box” store that a future tenant can outfit as desired, according to the permits. It will also construct a one-story addition to the site, while subcontractors will undertake extensive electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work.
There will also be construction at the current Barnes & Noble site. The store will receive a new entrance facing Broadway. To accommodate the new entrance, the store’s cash registers will move to the location of its current entrance.
The roof over the breezeway between the two storefronts will also be removed, according to a letter from architect Stephen Blackstone of Callison included in the files at the Building Department.
Blackstone added that the storefronts at both the Apple Store and the Bookstore would be redesigned. They will receive new stonework as well as large glass windows.
The permits also included plans for a crane to be parked on Broadway at some points of the renovation, blocking off all but one lane of the street.
An Apple spokeswoman confirmed that Apple is seeking applicants for retail jobs in in an Elm City store, the location of which has not been announced. The company’s website currently lists job openings for experts, managers, and inventory specialists at a New Haven location, but does not specify the location of the store. It lists only a 06511 Zip code, which encompasses much of New Haven, including the Broadway location.
Every other Apple job posting in Connecticut provides a precise location.
Apple has 323 retail stores worldwide, according to the company’s most recent quarterly financial report.