“We are thrilled that the city of San Francisco has given its final approval to begin work on our new store and public plaza, which will make a wonderful addition to Union Square and create hundreds of local jobs,” Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette told Re/code. “Our Stockton Street store has been incredibly popular, welcoming over 13 million customers since it opened nine years ago, and we look forward to making a new home on Union Square.”

Located at the corner of Stockton and Post on Union Square, home to many of the city’s luxury retailers, the new store will tape out at around 24,819 square feet — about 45 percent larger than Apple’s current store at Stockton and Ellis. Apple expects it to require about 400 employees to run, 50 more than its predecessor. And the company expects the finished store to become “more iconic than the glass cube in New York City.”

Bessette declined to say when Apple expects to begin construction on the new store, but sources close to the company suggest it will likely be this summer.

I love the emphasis Apple puts on creating iconic structures. I think this is especially important when you take a potentially historic property and convert it to commercial use.