Building permits list Apple Inc. as tenant

Trend-setting retailer Apple Inc. is listed as the tenant on Spokane building permits that indicate the company will move into the space vacated by Eddie Bauer in downtown Spokane.

Contractors filed permits to remodel the site at 710 W. Main. 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.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has been advertising for retail workers on job site Monster.com, but Apple has refused to say whether or when it would open a store in Spokane.

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. Idaho has none.

The city also lists an approved interior remodeling permit for work estimated at $400,000. The company in charge of remodeling is Dickinson Cameron Construction of Carlsbad, Calif.

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.