Apple has signed a 10-year deal to open a fifth New York City Apple Store in Grand Central Terminal, according to Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) documents uncovered by the New York Post.
Of Apple's 331 brick-and-mortar locations, the 23,000 square-foot store will be the largest. It will occupy a balcony space overlooking Grand Central's main hall, occupied for 11 years by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer's restaurant Metrazur. Apple will pay $800,000 annually to rent the space, which is about double what the restaurant paid for the spot. After the first 10 years, the price of rent will jump to $1 million annually, the Post said.
Apple will be responsible for the cost of remodeling the space, and according to the Post, the MTA expects the new Apple Store to bring in about $5 million in profits each year.
The MTA's financial committee must OK the deal on Monday, after which it will go to the agency's board of directors on Wednesday for final approval.
There has been strong indication over the past several months that Apple would open an additional New York City Store; rumors of a Grand Central location date back to February. Although they were squashed the following month, they resurfaced again in May via the Wall Street Journal. A few days ago, the New York Times reignited the rumors, claiming the MTA would approve Apple's proposal for the spot by this week.
Apple reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the company has not publicly confirmed the Grand Central Store. If the reports are true, the giant store would certainly take some of the stress off of Manhattan's smallest Apple Store, located on Fifth Avenue. Open 24 hours a day, it does more business than the other three Apple Stores in the Big Apple combined.