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Drone Footage Shows Apple Campus 2 Nearing Homestretch

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The circle is now complete

The good news for Apple Campus 2 voyeurs is that a fresh batch of omnipresent drone footage was uploaded by local YouTuber Matthew Roberts. The accompanying bad news is that someday soon we’ll all have to give up these aerial examinations.

The company does not expect to move in until 2017, so some months of hovering observation are still ahead of us.

But in this most recent swooping survey, the 2.8 million square foot project seems to be nearing the home stretch, with exteriors of ancillary buildings mostly complete, solar panels largely installed, underground areas largely buried, and the building’s grand ring shape finally unified.

Soon, the contents of the enormous, temple-like mound of excavated dirt (itself taller than the existing Apple Campus) will be redistributed for landscaping purposes, thus making a molehill out of a mountain.

It may be a melancholy day for atmospheric observers like Roberts, just one of many drone-equipped neighbors who buzz the site so routinely that it’s amazing the flying machines don’t run into each other mid-flight.

Watch the earliest flybys and think about what the world was like back in November 2013, when all of this started: The 49ers still played in San Francisco, Robin Thicke had a music career, and the new Bay Bridge was only starting to throw rods. Some serious Ghost of Christmas Past stuff is going on there.

In any case, our favorite part of this month’s update is clearly the giant foam blocks being layered over the underground auditorium and tunnels. We’re not sure if those things are as bouncy as they look or if it’s safe to jump on them, but the urge to try is still profound. Over on Tantau Avenue, the foundation of a new building is underway.

First announced in 2006, the Norman Foster-designed building was originally to have been done by now, but the groundbreaking was delayed and work didn’t begin in earnest until early 2014.