The on again/off again rumors surrounding an Apple Store at Grand Central appear to be on again, according to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal. The MTA will issue a request for proposals today on the current space inhabited by Metrazur, and despite steep costs, sources expect Apple to submit a response, Andrew Grossman reports today.
Grossman offers up a few details on the MTA’s attempts at extracting more money from its valuable retail spaces. Metrazur’s lease currently runs through 2019, and although the restaurant is making money, it plans to close on July 1 because the MTA, which is making only $400,000 a year off of the substantial space, is going to ask the next tenant to pay the restaurant’s owners a substantial termination fee. “It’s an offer that’s hard to refuse,” Chef Charlie Palmer said. “It’s hard to compete with whatever that company might be that’s taking the space.”
With retail experts believing that a Grand Central Apple Store could become more popular than the city’s other premiere locations, the MTA is looking for a deal focuses around a low base rent and a share of any story’s profits. The price may be steep, but for a chance to take up such a high-profile space in one of the nation’s busiest train terminals, it just be might worth. The authority too is looking to boost its own bottom line. “We believe that this special site in Grand Central Terminal can generate more revenue to support transit services,” agency spokesman Jeremy Soffin said.
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