Apple's New Operations Campus in Austin, Texas Taking Shape

Apple has begun to make significant progress on the construction of its future campus in Austin, Texas, judging by photos of the project sent to AppleInsider. The last report of progress on the campus came in December of 2012 as basic work began, with the new photos showing advancements toward the construction of multiple buildings, a working fountain and a filled pond, along with complete fences and sidewalks.

When complete, the Austin site will be used as the company's "Americas Operations Center." The new facility is being built in two stages. The first stage, seen in these photos, is slated to add 200,000 square feet of office space at a cost of $56 million. The second stage, scheduled to begin in 2015, will create 800,000 square feet of operating space.

The plans for the new campus were announced in March 2012 after Apple committed to spend $304 million on the Texas project, with 3,600 employees expected at the new facilities. After government approvals, Apple was then able to purchase the land in July 2012, which is when work began. The campus is expected to see full completion by the end of 2021, with the bottom 10 percent of the workers at the facility reportedly receiving an average yearly salary of $35,000, and contractors being paid a minimum of $11 per hour.

Progress on the expanded Austin campus comes as plans for Apple's future "Spaceship" campus in Cupertino, California were approved by a regulatory commission last week. That project appears set for a final approval vote on November 19 that would leave it on track for a 2016 opening.