The deal Apple signed is a ten year agreement for some 24,000 square feet of space in Grand Central Terminal (sometimes referred to as Grand Central Station) for an Apple Store. It will be one of the largest stores in Apple’s fleet of retail locations, situated in one of the most high-traffic locations in the world, with some 700,000 people passing through the terminal every day.
In other words, this store, which is located inside the terminal itself, has the potential to be a very big deal for Apple, which is why the company was willing to pony up US$5 million just to buy out the lease of an existing tenant occupying some of that space, and that’s in addition to the $1 million in annual rent Apple will be paying.
So, let’s see what they’re up to. The first image we’ll look at is the original proposed floor plan for the space. Apple is taking most of the East Balcony of the the Terminal, along with half of the North Balcony, for a lovely “L” shaped store.
Note: Each of the images below links to a larger version, but you can also view the PDF itself for even higher resolution images.
Floor plan for Apple’s Grand Central Terminal Apple Store
(Click on the image for a larger version)
Next, we have what Apple believes the lobby will look like. In this rendering, Apple shows us the quiet and subtle entryway to the store, which will nevertheless leave Apple’s logo seen by a gillionty people every year.
Grand Central Terminal Apple Store, from the Lobby
(Click on this image to see a greatly expanded view, including the fabulous windows rising above Apple’s space)
Now can look inside the store and see what it would look like with people, including a hot business woman with a brief case who is somehow having such a good day in the midst of the hustle, bustle, and stress of Manhattan business life, she is all smiles.
As pointed out in the comments of our July story featuring one of these images, the only problem with this rendering is that you need to imagine it with about 1,500 more people inside the store. As it is, this image is probably a more accurate rendering of how many people would be inside if it were a Microsoft Store, but without the smile.
Inside the Grand Central Terminal Apple Store (during a holiday, when NO ONE is riding the trains or subways of NYC)
(Click the image for a larger version)
Lastly, we have the first image that was released, the one we’ve already published. It also shows the inside the of the Apple Store, including the view of the Terminal lobby below.
Another view inside the Grand Central Terminal Apple Store
(Click the image for a larger version)