What you need to know
- Apple may finally remove the metal fence barrier surrounding its Apple Store in Portland, Oregon.
- The company is reportedly designing a new polycarbonate barrier that could be installed as soon as this summer.
The Apple Store in downtown Portland, Oregon has been surrounded by a metal fence barrier for over a year now. Thankfully, it appears that the barrier may finally be coming down.
As reported by The Oregonian and spotted by Michael Steeber's Tabletops newsletter, Apple is planning to replace the metal fence surrounding Apple Pioneer Place, the company's retail location in downtown Portland. The company reportedly proposed a new transparent security enclosure to a local community group as a replacement to the existing enclosure which has remained in place for over a year.
The retailer installed the tall metal barrier in February 2021 as it was preparing to reopen from a pandemic closure for the first time since the previous spring. The storefront had been fully boarded up since a May 2020 protest over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd escalated into a destructive riot, during which a group smashed the store's windows and took products from inside.
Walt Weyler, the chair of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, said that representatives from the company showed off the proposed new enclosure in a virtual meeting on Tuesday.
"We were very impressed with the project. We were very pleased with its concept. We were delighted that Apple is going to stay at that location, and that they're going to extend their investment in that part of our city."
Someone who attended the call took a screenshot of the proposed polycarbonate enclosure design which you can see below:
Weyler believes that, while the project is in the conceptual stage, Apple is most likely considering such a move as a way to maintain its presence in the city while also continuing to protect its property. Construction of the new enclosure could begin as soon as this summer.
Apple declined to comment on the report.
