FANS of A Bathing Ape – the cult Japanese streetwear brand with a rabid following and a single U.S. outpost, in Manhattan – have been burning up the blogosphere for years, speculating on exactly where and when the first L.A. boutique would appear.

Well, here’s the answer: Construction on a boutique at 8001 Melrose Ave. is in its final phase, and the first West Coast Bathing Ape is expected to open mid-April. “We’re planning a big grand opening bash for that,” company spokeswoman Amanda Silverman said. “Nigo [the line’s designer] will be in town, and we’re hoping Pharrell [Williams] and Kanye [West] will both be there.”

Oh, and they’re hiring sales clerks and office workers now too.

Concentrated in Japan with additional shops in London, Hong Kong and Taipei, the BAPE stores usually share a spare, minimalist aesthetic that’s a counterpoint to the busy graphics of the merchandise, and an early glance inside the single-floor, 3,000-square foot shop at the corner of Melrose and Edinburgh avenues reveals that’s likely to be duplicated here as well.

Launched in 1993 by Japanese designer Tomoaki Nagao (who goes by the moniker “Nigo”), the quirky, premium collection of T-shirts, hoodies, footwear and accessories is coveted for the distinctive camouflage designs, “Planet of the Apes”-inspired iconography and extremely limited product runs and distribution. Prices run from $70 for T-shirts to $180 for sneakers to $300 for hoodies. (Sneaker heads have been known to camp out for hours to score a pair of the label’s brightly colored kicks.)

When the 800-pound gorilla swings open its doors this spring, it will cement the stretch of Melrose just west of Fairfax Avenue as a premium streetwear mecca, with Adidas Originals next door at 8009, Kidrobot across the street, Crooks & Castles a few doors west and the Hundreds around the corner on Rosewood Avenue.

adam.tschorn@latimes.com