Cleveland Plain Dealer - January 5th,2008

January 15th, 2008

Apple store reportedly coming to Crocker Park

Rejoice, Mac users. The Apple store long envisioned for Crocker Park in Westlake appears to be on its way.

Westlake officials said construction on a building slated to house Northeast Ohio’s second Apple outlet already has begun and is on track for a possible opening this summer. The future store is even accepting applications.

Robert Parry, director of planning and economic development for Westlake, said Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple is “anxious” to move forward on a project that has been under discussion since the early days of Crocker Park in 2006.

“It’s been on their plans for a long time,” he said. “It’s been talked about for two years now. It’s hard to believe.”

Apple would not confirm an interest in Crocker Park. Spokeswoman Amy Barney said only that Apple has “made no announcements regarding a store at that location.”

Across town, a manager at the Legacy Village store in Lyndhurst also declined to comment.

Apple’s Web site is more revealing. Its “Job Opportunities” page points to 11 positions available at a store at Crocker Park. Two of those positions — store manager and assistant store manager — are labeled “current” openings.

Crocker Park officials would not discuss the site’s possible future as the West Side source for iPods, iPhones and iMacs.

But Darryl Whitehead, marketing director for Crocker Park developer Stark Enterprises, confirmed that construction on the mixed-use building that Parry said would house Apple is under way on the south side of Crocker Park Boulevard near Dick’s Sporting Goods.

He said the five-floor structure known as the “Langston” building will entail four residential floors as well as a ground-level strip of clothing and accessories retailers, including Sunglass Hut, MAC Cosmetics, Lucky Brand Jeans, Guess and Bebe.

Parry said the building will measure 125,000 square feet and contain 56 dwelling units across four upper levels. The lower floor set aside for retail space will measure approximately 30,000 square feet, he said, with just over 5,100 square feet slated for Apple.

Designs for an Apple store, storefront and sign have been submitted to Westlake City Council and are up for review at a Planning Commission meeting Monday night. Drawings for the site were completed by Kenneth Park, a New York-based architecture firm.

Parry said he expects the plans to be approved, clearing the way for Apple to move ahead with construction through the winter, toward an opening as early as summer.

“I don’t think weather’s going to stop them,” he said. “That shouldn’t hold them up at all. . . . I don’t see [Apple] not going forward.”

If and when the Crocker Park store opens, it would be the fourth Apple location in Ohio and the second in Northeast Ohio. Besides Legacy Village, Apple also has stores at Kenwood Towne Centre in suburban Cincinnati and at Easton Town Center in Columbus.

Regionally, Cleveland would not be unique in having two stores. Pittsburgh also has two Apple stores, and there are four Apple locations in Greater Detroit.

Parry said he’s eager to see Apple in Westlake. “They need something for techies at Crocker Park,” he said. “We need a gadget store.”

Still, his eagerness is no match for the rapt anticipation of avid Mac users like 21-year-old Cuyahoga Falls resident Eric Roth, who has been looking forward to this news practically every day since October 2006 on a blog devoted to the prospect of an Apple store at Crocker Park.

The site, “Apple Store Crocker Park,” features news updates, Internet links and photos, even a store selling T-shirts, buttons and coffee mugs. Roth said he hasn’t actually sold anything, but he does receive 300 to 500 visitors a month.

Now that his long-awaited store is actually on the horizon, Roth said he’s already looking forward to camping outside its yet-to-be-built front door, just as he did for the grand openings at two other Apple stores, in Canada and in Michigan.

“We’ll probably be first in line,” Roth said. “We go for the fun of it. . . .

“It’s the people, being with like-minded people who are just as crazy as you are.”

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

zlewis@plaind.com, 216-999-4632

© 2008 The Plain Dealer © 2008 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized