Apple scraps plans for retail store in New York's Grand Central - report

Apple has allegedly backed out of plans to build a new retail store in the main terminal of New York City's Grand Central Terminal.

Citing a source with New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the New York Observer reported that Apple has abandoned its plans to build a 16,000-square-foot store on the balconies of Grand Central's main terminal. The project apparently never got past the preliminary stage, and it is believed that negotiations with the MTA fell through.

The publication originally reported in February that Apple was looking to build a store in New York's iconic Grand Central Terminal. The store placement would allow Apple to sell products like the iPhone and iPad to shoppers at the terminal station located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

But the project faced a "long approval process" to place the storefront right in the terminal. Part of the problem with the rumored project was the fact that it would be located in a city landmark.

Supporting the news that the project fell through, Jeffrey Roseman, executive vice president of Newmark Knight Frank Retail, also claimed, via Twitter, that Apple is not coming to Grand Central.

Leasing options available at the terminal would have made it difficult for Apple to build a store with the rumored 16,000 square foot size. The company would have likely needed to combine some retail spaces.

18 Comments

zoetmb 2654 comments · 17 Years

About 13 years ago

If they were going to build in the balconies, that would have replaced two restaurants, including Michael Jordan's restaurant, but there's no way that would have come to anything near 18,000 square feet. The balconies are also very narrow and wouldn't have made much sense for a computer store. The space could not have been enclosed (with walls) and Grand Central has a prohibition against any advertising on the balcony. A giant Kodak mural was permanently removed from there when the terminal was renovated in 1998 and the east staircase was restored.

This rumor never made sense to me because the only place in Grand Central with 18,000 square feet (even combining other current retail) is the Oyster Bar restaurant and I couldn't see that going away - it's been there since 1913. It's also not at the street level - it's on a ramp leading down to the lower track level.

Some people thought Apple would take over Vanderbilt Hall, which was originally a waiting room and now used as exhibition space. But then people would have to walk through the Apple Store to get into the terminal. And since this is "public space", I could see major objections to a commercial retailer taking this space.

While Apple might have been interested in the location generally, which is probably what started the rumor, my bet is that they quickly realized there was no place for them in Grand Central, especially not for a large store. There is probably room for a mall-type smaller store.