Permits reveal Apple’s plan for downtown Spokane store

Trend-setting retailer Apple Inc. is listed as the tenant on city building permits that indicate the company will move into the space vacated by Eddie Bauer in downtown Spokane. Permits filed by contractors to remodel the two-story site, at 710 W. Main, are on file online at Spokane’s building permit site. Apple is listed as the tenant. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has been advertising for retail workers on job site Monster.com, but Apple has refused to say whether or when it would open a retail store in Spokane. The building permits list the location as River Park Square. Cowles Co., which owns The Spokesman-Review, also owns River Park Square. The permits do not list a store opening date. Apple’s popular computer and entertainment products, such as the iPhone and iPod, have turned it into a coveted retailer. Spokane retailers have said landing an Apple store in Spokane would be a coup. The company — which on Wednesday overtook Microsoft as the largest technology company in the world by market capitalization — selects locations for stores based on demographics including disposable income and concentration of college students. Apple has more than 200 stores worldwide and five in Washington, all on the west side. Currently Idaho has none. Also listed online is an approved permit to remodel the interior of the former Eddie Bauer space. That permit, issued to a Carlsbad, Calif., construction firm, says the shell work comes to an estimated $400,000. Stephen Pohl, River Park Square manager, would not comment on Apple’s plans. He said mall officials are talking with “a number of potential candidates” for that location.