Apple Planning New Stores in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Atlanta Metro Areas

Apple is planning to open three new retail stores in the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Toronto, and Atlanta, according to building permits found by MacRumors.

Apple is laying the groundwork for a new store in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County that will be located in the Center shopping mall in Torrance, California. Apple filed building permits for the new location with the city in October, which indicate that the new Apple retail location will be located on the main level of the mall, between Lululemon and Madewell. The store will be created from two side-by-side retail spaces that were formerly occupied by J.Crew and Chico’s.

Apple’s plans for the store were first revealed by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman back in June. Gurman had gotten his hands on the Cupertino firm’s retail expansion roadmap, which was intended for internal access only. The roadmap showed that Apple has plans to open the store in March 2024. Of course, that timeframe is subject to adjustment, due to completion of contracting with construction firms, hiring of employees, and other factors that could cause delays.

Meanwhile, Apple also has plans to move into a larger new location in Mississauga’s Square One shopping mall in the Greater Toronto Area. Although Apple already has a store in the Square One mall that’s been there since 2009, it’s one of the smaller “first-generation” stores

Building permits shared by iPhone in Canada in October reveal the company has been planning a move to a space on the second floor of the mall directly above the food court that was previously occupied by Massimo Dutti. This new location was supposed to open in November but was delayed for unknown reasons.

Last but certainly not least, Apple filed a building permit with Gwinnett County in Georgia back in May that shows Apple is planning to relocate its Mall of Georgia location in Buford, northeast of Atlanta. Like Apple Square One, Apple Mall of Georgia is a first-generation store that’s even tinier, so it’s arguably overdue for a move to a larger space.

While the new store will remain in the Mall of Georgia, the permit does not specify a location within the mall.

While Apple’s roadmap showed the company had expected to have the new Square One and Mall of Georgia stores ready to open late this year, the projects are taking longer to complete.

Meanwhile, in Toronto…

In October, Apple pulled out of the troubled The One retail project retail development project in Toronto, leaving the site without an anchor store — and Toronto without its much-anticipated new flagship Apple Store.

The One is an ambitious project being built by Mizrahi Developments that’s been under construction since 2016. It’s designed as an 85-story mixed residential/retail skyscraper that will be located at the corner of Yonge and Bloor in the heart of downtown Toronto where the city’s two largest subway lines intersect.

In 2018 Apple announced that it would open a 9,000-square-foot retail store which would act as an anchor for the retail complex. It would have been one of the largest (and coolest) Apple Stores in Canada, and the second modern flagship Apple Store in the country, following Vancouver’s Apple Pacific Center, which opened in late 2022.

However, in February 2022, Apple began threatening to pull out of the project if certain construction milestones and deadlines could not be met to the company’s satisfaction. The project fell into bankruptcy due to several delays in construction and a massive $1.6 billion debt.

Although Apple Saint-Catherine was Canada’s first flagship Apple Store, opening in Montreal in 2007, it retains Apple’s classic facade, whereas modern flagship stores have adopted unique architectural designs to set each store apart. Meanwhile, although Apple has 28 stores in Canada, the Vancouver and Montreal flagships are the only standalone locations in the country.

Store Closings

While Apple is still willing to bet on the viability of shopping malls, despite mall closures around the United States, it has announced that it will be closing two stores in January.

Apple confirmed will permanently close its legendary Infinite Loop Store in Cupertino, California, on January 20. It will also shut down its Royal Hawaiian store in Honolulu on the same day. Affected employees at both locations will be offered the opportunity to continue working for Apple at other nearby retail stores.