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Apple branches out with new campus in Santa Clara

While there have been construction hold-ups on the tech giant's forthcoming spaceship-like headquarters, the company has to build new offices to hold all of its workers.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
Apple's proposed new headquarters would be able to fit all of its employees but has yet to be built. Apple

As delays have hampered the construction of Apple's proposed upcoming spaceship-like headquarters, the tech giant has begun construction on a two-building campus in nearby Santa Clara, Calif., to house its overflow of employees, according to the Oakland Tribune.

Apple agreed to lease the Santa Clara site, which is close to its current Cupertino headquarters, and plans to move in by 2014. Now under construction, this office will be nearly 296,000 square feet, take up two six-story buildings, and accommodate at least 1,200 employees.

Apple has been making moves to find extra space to fit employees around Silicon Valley, leasing office space well outside of its Cupertino headquarters, which can hold about 2,800 employees. The company has some 12,000 employees in the area, which led the company to pitch plans to the city of Cupertino last year to build a new headquarters that can fit up to 14,200 people.

This new headquarters is designed to be a gigantic circular building, which somewhat resembles the Pentagon and is slated to be completed by mid-2016. Originally, Apple hoped to move into its new digs in 2015, but the city of Cupertino hasn't yet completed its environmental impact survey, so construction has been pushed back until next year.

CNET contacted Apple for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.