This news of a forthcoming Apple Store in Portland, Oregon comes from The Oregonian newspaper rather than Kelly's House of Crackpot Theories (TUAW blogger and podcaster Kelly Guimont is a resident of The City of Roses). The design, approved by the Portland Design Commission, is apparently for an Apple Store at Pioneer Place that will be one city block wide.

According to ifoAppleStore, "The store's size, design, materials and location are nearly epic, and will make it among the chain's most distinctive, as well as a city landmark." While Apple wasn't named as the owner of the proposed facility, the architecture (from Apple's architectural team Bohlin Cywinski Jackson), materials, and size all suggest an Apple Store.

The design sounds beautiful. ifoAppleStore notes that it will be "a glass box topped by a thin, near-floating roof. Behind the glass box will be a 30-foot tall stone wall." The store could open as soon as the spring of 2013.