Apple's spaceship campus has been approved for liftoff.
The Cupertino City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the tech giant's futuristic headquarters, according to a report from the San Jose Mercury News.
The approval comes a little over two years after Steve Jobs submitted his proposal for the campus in June 2011.
"Steve transformed Apple into one of the most innovative companies in the world and we understand the responsibilities that come from carrying his legacy forward with this project," Apple's head of real estate and facilities, Dan Whisenhunt, told the council, according to the paper. "We've designed it with the same care and attention to detail as we do with all Apple products."
As the paper noted, the council will conduct one final vote on Nov. 15, but it's largely a procedural move, so for all intents and purposes, Apple's plans for a new campus are a go.
During a Wednesday press conference that was webcast, Cupertino Mayor Orrin Mahoney said his staff worked "day and night" to bring this project to fruition.
"It was about two years ago that Steve Jobs came into this chamber and gave us first glimpse of what this building would look like," Mahoney said. "To start us on a journey that culminated in the decision we made last night to turn that dream into a reality. "
Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said the company is hoping to break ground on the new facility before the end of the year.
"We have put a tremendous amount of love and energy on this campus and we can't wait to get started on it," he said. "We are going to build the best office building ever built in the world."
Oppenheimer said the facility will be "the most environmentally friendly building of its size." More than 70 percent of the building's energy will be made on site through solar and fuel cells. The remaining energy will be obtained through other green sources in California.
"I think Steve [Jobs] would be very, very proud today," he said.
Oppenheimer last week gave Mercury News an exclusive look at a model of the 176-acre campus ahead of the city council vote. The company plans to replace roughly 80 percent of asphalt that currently occupies the space with "open space and parkland." Apple has said the campus will add 120 acres of green space to the city's landscape and lead to a reduction in vehicle traffic.
The company also mailed out brochures last week to Cupertino residents in an effort to promote "Apple Campus 2."
"We plan to break ground shortly after approval," Oppenheimer wrote in the mailer. "We will keep in touch as construction progresses, and we look forward to welcoming all of you to a community day when our beautiful new home opens in 2016."
The company's current headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop holds between 2,600 and 2,800 people, but Apple has almost 12,000 people scattered throughout the city in rented buildings. The massive new 2.8-million-square-foot circular building will hold as many as 13,000 Apple employees.
Apple was initially hoping to break ground on the massive campus in 2012 and move in by 2015, but now it looks like construction will not be completed until mid-2016.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 1:45 p.m. Eastern with details from the press conference.