Courtesy of MTA
Apple has signed a ten year deal with New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to open the largest Apple Store yet within Grand Central Terminal.
Apple will pay the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Association) $800,000 in rent annually for the station's north and northwest balconies, nearly three times as much rent as Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant (named after a commuter train that once ran along the Cote d'Azur en route to Monaco) was paying. In ten years, Apple's rent will go up to a million dollars annually.
Apple will be paying to refurbish the space, and must work with New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission to get any changes to the interior of the city landmark approved.
Back in June of 2007 I published a featured post on this blog titled: Grand-Central-Terminal-Restored-Rejuvinated-and-Still-Spectacular I wrote in that piece the rich history of GCT and it's neighborhood how city and community leaders, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, rallied against changes to Grand Central Terminal and saved it from the wrecking ball. The National Register of Historic Places named Grand Central Terminal as a National Historic Landmark and there was the Penn Central lawsuit that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which upheld New York's landmark law.
In 1994, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) gained long-term control of Grand Central Terminal in the form of a 110-year lease from American Premier Underwriters, Inc., successor to the Penn Central Corporation. Along with developer partnerships they implemented a comprehensive revitalization plan based on the Master Plan for Grand Central Terminal.
Courtesy of MTA
A new Midtown Manhattan Grand Central Terminal store, located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue, would capitalize on tourist and commuter traffic using the station. Apple's highest density of retail stores is already centered in Manhattan, where the company currently operates four stores: GM Building Fifth Ave location, an Upper West Side store on Broadway, a SoHo store, and one in the Meatpacking District on West 14th Street.
It's great for Apple and tons of revenue for MTA. Unfortunately the MTA a quasi state agency has a history of mismanaging funds, crying poverty, raising subway, bus, metro north and long island rail tickets because they seem to always need more money even though most New Yorkers think of the MTA as a "gold mine." "Cha ching" 24/7/365.
Hopefully the rent they collect from Apple will be enough to build a new station on the Upper West Side that has long been proposed but got scrapped because it was no longer feasible once the Riverside Center project for Riverside South was approved and their plans do not call for a new metro north station as part of that project.
Hopefully commuters won't be too inconvenienced on days when Apple launches a new product. There is still the 125th Street Harlem station. MTA may need to build more stations in Manhattan and hopefully they will use the money wisely.
As always, the MTA is involved in controversy regarding leasing this space and the price per foot Apple will be paying. Less than other tenants in GCT. Many feel the MTA gave it away compared to retail space in other popular locations such as Time Square.
Grand Central Terminal Apple Store Opens Friday December 9th 2011
courtesy of:
Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, The Corcoran Group
Comments (44)Subscribe to CommentsComment