In early February, the Internet was all abuzz with news about an Apple Store in Grand Central. Supposedly, the computer giant would take over the Metrazur space on the balcony above the Main Concourse. Those dreams were, perhaps, dashed by a tweet though.
On Thursday afternoon, Jeffrey Roseman, an executive vice president of Newmark Knight Frank Retail, said, “Let’s see if Apple NOT coming to Grand Central, gets as much press as it got, when the rumor started.” Since then, both Cult of Mac and The Observer claim that the talks between the MTA and Apple, categorized as “preliminary,” have fallen through. Neither party is talking on the record about the goings-on, but for some reason, I am not surprised to hear this.
2 comments
Does the MTA even own/collect the rent on the retail space in GCT? The non-transportation side of GCT is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle, and the MTA leases the building from a shell company descendant of Penn Central. I’m not sure who collects the rent. So is it accurate to say that the talks are even between the Apple and the MTA, or between Apple and the owner of GCT?
I’m pretty sure the MTA’s long-term lease of the building allows it to do whatever it wants, and it did fund the renovations and has an option coming up to buy the building should it want.
I also think the building is, in the MTA’s byzantine corporate structure, officially part of Metro-North.