A SIGNPOST TO FUTURE INNOVATIONS
IN OUR OWN HOMES
Is it a donut? Is it spaceship? Perhaps, but really,
it’s Apple Park – now officially one of the most
expensive buildings on the planet. Following
an official, but challenging assessment by Santa
Clara County, the campus in Cupertino has now
been valued at an astonishing $4.17 billion.
Covering no fewer than 2.8 million square feet
of land, Apple Park itself is worth $3.6 billion,
with all of the computers, furniture, and custom-
made equipment and features across the site
making up the rest of the value (hence, the
challenge the assessors faced in coming up with
a precise valuation).
Apple Park, which took nearly four years to build
and plenty more to plan, cost around $5 billion
to construct. To put that in perspective, the
world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai,
cost $1.5 billion to reach to the skies.
As per Californian law, Apple is now required
to pay approximately 1% in property tax per
annum, putting the annual cost of residence at
Apple Park in the region of $40 million. And
while some skeptics have argued that this cost
still feels relatively insufficient given Apple’s
overall revenue, there is no doubt that the
campus is a marvel of architectural design.
THE HISTORY OF APPLE PARK
Way back in 2006, Steve Jobs announced
that Apple was planning to build a second
campus, then simply known as ‘Apple
Campus 2’. Unfortunately, Jobs didn’t live
to see construction begin, although four
months before his death, he announced that