First phase of Apple's new $300M Austin, TX campus nears completion

Austin city officials have issued certificates of occupancy for two new buildings at the site, according to a report with photos from the Austin Business Journal. The structures provide some 290,000 square feet of office space, just over a fourth of the 1 million square feet the campus will eventually contain.

Construction has moved swiftly since AppleInsider detailed the project's progress last October. A central plaza linking the new buildings is complete, and workers appear to be installing final touches like vehicle-stopping bollards.

First announced in 2012, the Austin campus is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2021 at a cost of $304 million. Apple has said that it intends to nearly double its current Austin headcount to 3,600 employees once the new facility is complete.

In addition to the Austin project, Apple is in the process of expanding its European headquarters in Ireland to accommodate 500 new workers. The company is also preparing to begin construction on its new, $5 billion "spaceship" corporate headquarters in Cupertino.