Unusual demands could take months more to solve

Full construction is at last underway for the Walnut Street Apple Store in downtown Philadelphia, a report notes. Despite the size of the city, residents have so far had to drive as far away as Ardmore or Cherry Hill to shop at a first-party store, which can be particularly important during major product launches. The Walnut Street outlet should address that problem, but until now development has been hampered by the need to carefully remove asbestos from a building dating back to the 1900s.

The next step involves gutting the interior to make room for Apple's signature layout and decorations. Including finishing a facade, completing all construction tasks may push the store's opening to as late as November, just in time to handle an influx of Christmas shoppers. Apple frequently opens a larger number of stores towards the end of the year, precisely to take advantage of increased interest.

by MacNN Staff