( CNN ) -- It will cover 2.8 million square feet and have its own power plant inside its massive , gleaming circular design . It will be covered in solar panels and house up to 13,000 people on a daily basis -- not to mention 6,000 trees . It 's been compared to a spaceship . And now , as Apple looks to make its innovative new headquarters a reality , it 's checking with the neighbors . Due to be completed in 2015 , Apple 's new headquarters may be one of co-founder Steve Jobs ' final , longest-lasting legacies . This week , Apple reached out to residents of Cupertino , California , where its current headquarters resides ( and will continue to after the new campus is built ) . In a letter obtained by blog 9to5 Mac , the company seeks to allay some concerns that its neighbors have expressed since the plan was submitted to the city last summer . Former Apple employee explains 'upside-down ' logo . According to the letter , the four-story building will be a research facility that will not replace the existing campus on 1 Infinite Loop . And it will not be open to the public , so there will be no museum or corporate store . The building will contain an auditorium that seats 1,000 and will be used for special events like product unveilings , though . The letter , from Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer , says the company plans to break ground on the site as soon as Cupertino gives its approval , which is expected this year . Neighbors are invited to send Apple a letter or go to the city 's website to express any concerns . In the suburban city of roughly 58,000 people , the primary concerns have focused on additional traffic and environmental impact , both of which Apple says it is addressing in the design of the campus , which is expected to get LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) certification as an environmentally friendly project . The new campus was one of the last major initiatives for Jobs , who died last year . In 2010 , when HP abandoned its Cupertino campus , Jobs quietly arranged to buy the site , according to Walter Isaacson 's biography , `` Steve Jobs . '' `` I want to leave a signature campus that expresses the values of the company for generations , '' Jobs told Isaacson . A team of 50 architects was hired , and Jobs , as was his habit , was intimately involved in the details , according to the book . Much of the campus sits on the former site of an apricot orchard , and Jobs required that 80 % of the campus be natural , with more than 6,000 trees . Apple hopes to raze 26 buildings on the site to make room for the `` spaceship , '' which will be surrounded by grass and trees . A June 7 City Council meeting was one of Jobs ' last public appearances . At the meeting , he spent about 20 minutes introducing the project and answering questions . `` It 's a little like a spaceship landed , '' he said as council members got their first look at the design . `` I think the overall feel of the place is going to be a zillion times better than it is now . `` I think we do have a shot of building the best office building in the world . I really do think architecture students will come here to see this . I think it could be that good . ''
Apple is moving forward with `` spaceship '' campus in California . Circular building would house one employees , be surrounded by greenspace . The campus was 13,000 of last major projects for late CEO Peter Oppenheimer . Apple plans to begin moving into the campus in This week .