The city of Cupertino has granted final approval to Apple for its planned “spaceship” campus. While the city council had unanimously agreed to the construction of the campus in October, it gave its formal approval on Tuesday.
Construction will begin with the demolition of the Hewlett-Packard office buildings currently on site later this year.
Apple will enter into a 20-year-long development agreement with the city of Cupertino, increasing the amount of tax it pays to the city. Last year, Apple generated $12.7 million in sales tax for the city, of which $6.2 million was rebated back to the company. This year, the rebate will be reduced to 35% of the tax Apple pays, down from the previous 50%.
The campus, dubbed the “spaceship” by Steve Jobs himself, had run into snags earlier this year when it was reported the project was behind schedule and $2 billion over budget.
