Apple paid $33,333 per stair for glass staircase in San Francisco’s Union Square

union square apple store

Apple’s signature glass staircase in its newly launched store on San Francisco’s Union Square set the company back a cool $1 million, or approximately $33,333 per stair, while the shell of the building cost about $19 million, according to official building permits obtained by Patently Apple.

The building’s sprinkler system cost an estimated $2.28 million to upgrade, the solar power installation on the roof cost $800,000 while installing canopy panels came with a $150,000 price tag attached to it.

Here’s the full breakdown of the other listed costs:

  • $2.28 million: Total cost of upgrading the building’s sprinkler system
  • $800,000: Value of the 50 kilowatt solar power apparatus on the roof
  • $250,000: Price of the building’s interior and exterior frame
  • $150,000: Cost of installing canopy panels
  • $100,000: Price of demolishing the old storefront
  • $100,000: Seismic upgrades for the second floor and roof
  • $82,000: The cost of installing the signage on the exterior building
  • $50,000: Cost of a single guard rail on “stair number six”
  • $50,000: The price of just the store’s shelving
  • $50,000: The price for just the structural supports for the ginormous video wall
  • $4,000: Price of the fire alarms

“Over the weekend we learned from BuildZoom, a company who compiled all of the permits for the new Union Square Apple Store, that Apple spent $24 million at minimum on this one store alone,“ writes Patently Apple.

Building permits don’t make it clear how much the gigantic full-height doors cost.

The massive doors, located on both sides of the store, are 42 foot and open 40 feet wide. The doors open to the street, with the back ones opening on a public plaza.

Source: Patently Apple