If you’ve seen any of the conceptual renders of what Apple’s new “spaceship” campus will look like once it’s fully up and running, with all the fancy landscaping completed, you’ll no doubt have noticed just how green it all is. The big metal donut is expected to be completely surrounded — and filled — with lush foliage, and since Apple has a few extra bucks kicking around in its couch cushions it’s going to be bringing trees in rather than planting and waiting for them to grow. That’s apparently becoming a bit of an issue for other construction projects in the area, including San Francisco’s own in-progress Transbay Transit Center.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, the Transit Center project needs a whole bunch of trees for the huge city park that is planned for its roof. Over 450 trees will be needed for the project, with just 60 having been delivered thus far, and the rest have to arrive before the facility opens later this year.
Unfortunately for the project’s planners, Apple has been in a tree-buying frenzy. The company has reportedly sourced several thousands of trees for the new campus, and it’s putting a strain on the supply of ready-to-plant greenery. According to the Chronicle, Transbay landscapers and architects have been forced to not only search as far as Oregon to find the trees they want, but have begun claiming the trees with “locking yellow tags” so that Apple and other buyers couldn’t claim them.
When they’re finally completed, Apple’s new digs and the Transbay center will both undoubtedly be eye-catching attractions, but for now they’re something of arboreal enemies.
