Apple's third Manhattan flagship to open in Meatpacking district by year's end
After two false starts, Apple said Wednesday it will finally open its third Manhattan retail store by year's end, this time on the lower west side in the city's Meatpacking District.
CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced the plans during the company's second quarter conference call, saying the store would be located at 14th Street and 9th Avenue. The district originally housed some 250 wholesale meatpackers, but has been in transitioned lately into trendy retailers, hotels, restaurants and nightspots.
For Apple, the west side store will mark the third out of a projected five store Manhattan project. Over the last two years, the company began and then cancelled store initiatives in the Flatiron District and on West 34th Street. However, it does operate two very successful stores in the SoHo district of the city, and on Fifth Avenue near Central Park.
Based on checks, a probable location of the new store is 401 W. 14th Street -- a three-story, 52,000 square-foot corner property that holds a prominent location at a three-street intersection. The property is managed by R.K. Futterman & Associates, the same company that brokered the deal for the Apple Store Fifth Avenue.
The building at 401 W. 14th Street has undergone an extensive $10 million renovation after its original meatpacking tenant was reportedly forced out in early 2006 by an investment company that wanted to upscale the property. At least one restaurant has occupied the ground floor space since then, but moved out earlier this year because it wasn't making money.
News accounts have said that Futterman was looking for a single tenant to occupy the building at a cost of $5 million to $6 million a year. Other accounts said that ground-floor tenants were paying $300 per square-foot annually for the 12,000 square-foot space.Â*
The Meatpacking District was recently added to New York's register of historic places, limiting the architectural changes that can be made to the exterior of buildings. It's located about a mile from the Apple's SoHo store -- where Apple also dealt with architectural limitations -- and adjacent to both the Greenwich Village and the West Village.
Apple reportedly has at least one more store on the drawing board for Manhattan: somewhere on the Upper West Side, most likely in area of 84th Street and Broadway.
About the author: Gary Allen is the founder of ifo Apple Store, a publication providing close watch of Apple's retail business. When Gary isn't busy dishing dirt on the Mac maker's latest retail stores, he finds himself hanging out at one. For more of his work, check out ifo Apple Store and his in-depth coverage of Wednesday's retail announcements.
CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced the plans during the company's second quarter conference call, saying the store would be located at 14th Street and 9th Avenue. The district originally housed some 250 wholesale meatpackers, but has been in transitioned lately into trendy retailers, hotels, restaurants and nightspots.
For Apple, the west side store will mark the third out of a projected five store Manhattan project. Over the last two years, the company began and then cancelled store initiatives in the Flatiron District and on West 34th Street. However, it does operate two very successful stores in the SoHo district of the city, and on Fifth Avenue near Central Park.
Based on checks, a probable location of the new store is 401 W. 14th Street -- a three-story, 52,000 square-foot corner property that holds a prominent location at a three-street intersection. The property is managed by R.K. Futterman & Associates, the same company that brokered the deal for the Apple Store Fifth Avenue.
The building at 401 W. 14th Street has undergone an extensive $10 million renovation after its original meatpacking tenant was reportedly forced out in early 2006 by an investment company that wanted to upscale the property. At least one restaurant has occupied the ground floor space since then, but moved out earlier this year because it wasn't making money.
News accounts have said that Futterman was looking for a single tenant to occupy the building at a cost of $5 million to $6 million a year. Other accounts said that ground-floor tenants were paying $300 per square-foot annually for the 12,000 square-foot space.Â*
The Meatpacking District was recently added to New York's register of historic places, limiting the architectural changes that can be made to the exterior of buildings. It's located about a mile from the Apple's SoHo store -- where Apple also dealt with architectural limitations -- and adjacent to both the Greenwich Village and the West Village.
Apple reportedly has at least one more store on the drawing board for Manhattan: somewhere on the Upper West Side, most likely in area of 84th Street and Broadway.
About the author: Gary Allen is the founder of ifo Apple Store, a publication providing close watch of Apple's retail business. When Gary isn't busy dishing dirt on the Mac maker's latest retail stores, he finds himself hanging out at one. For more of his work, check out ifo Apple Store and his in-depth coverage of Wednesday's retail announcements.
Comments
And the beat goes on ...
Guys/Gals,
If anyone is in the area of the Meatpacking district today and can snap a photo of the proposed location listed in the article, it would be greatly appreciated. You can mail me at: kasper (at) appleinsider.com.
Best,
K
add in some photoshop, and you have:
according to tuaw, its likely this building
add in some photoshop, and you have:
And at $300.00 per square foot ?
Maybe some less expensive sites, in areas where Mac's can't be purchased / seen with great ease, would make more sense!
I mean, hell a store in Portland, Maine (Maine has some of the highest number of Mac's per person in the country) - would cost maybe $45.00 per square foot ? maybe Mac's could come down in price if they start doing business like any other business person / company, and looking at the bottom line, instead of the glory of the location.
Yes New York city has more people then the whole state on Maine, but the point is - let's do this for less, and save or pass on the savings.
Heck you know and I know, there ARE places all across America where Apple could set up shop, and do very well, for a whole hell of a lot less money!
And beside that, not everyone lives in, or visit's NY, or many of the other locations they are setting up shop.
Hell if they insist on being in these high rent districts, they should surely see the benefits of locating in some others areas for much less money.
Hell how about Conway, NH - Settlers Green Mall is a zoo many times throughout the year as folks are there shopping, skiing, vacationing ? SPENDING money. Conway is just 30 minutes from Lake Winnipesaukee - which has hundreds of VERY rich folks (many of the homes here START at 2 MILLION dollars: (and some cost $35 MILLION to build
- http://www.ideatoreality.com/residen...tial-appe4.htm
- http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopo...eCamp18AsW.jpg
- http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=2355
There are several area's like this, that work VERY well, for ALL the other MAJOR retailers.
Skip
A much more sensible place would be the flatiron area.. convenient to all trains, mostly retail stores these days, centrally located, lots of foot traffic both day and night. Only down side is tekserve is in the area.
The other option would be union square... convenient to trains, lots of students, It's basically on 14th st but much more central. Any other opinions here?
I live in the flatiron area.. I'm not big on their decision. The meatpacking is more of a nighttime area..it's also located far west not convenient to many trains and doesn't have the daytime walk by traffic as the other locations do. I don't know what their thinking here other than that in a few years the area may become more of a daytime place as it has changed so rapidly...
A much more sensible place would be the flatiron area.. convenient to all trains, mostly retail stores these days, centrally located, lots of foot traffic both day and night. Only down side is tekserve is in the area.
The other option would be union square... convenient to trains, lots of students, It's basically on 14th st but much more central. Any other opinions here?
You might remember my company almost across the street from the Flatiron building, New York FilmWorks. We moved and then sold out several years ago.
I question bringing FIVE stores into Manhattan. Is it really so hard to get to SoHo or 5th Ave? I think the UWS location mentioned in the article around W 84th St makes more sense.
Maybe they should think about building a store near the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn and a similar hub in western Queens (Court Sq?).
This Statement is a flat out LIE. I was a regular customer at the restaurant (a Belgian Bistro) and it was not only extremely busy, but VERY VERY Profitable. That's the price of progress I guess. The way developers are allowed to buy up properties and kick out established tenants and businesses with LEASES is disgraceful!
But hey that's progress for you! Good luck Apple, this corner will be the new congregating place for the Bridge and Tunnel crowds on Saturday night. The streets will flow with Long Island Ice Teas and VOMIT, but there will be lots of CASH floating on the top too!
Dive right in Yuppie Scum!
" At least one restaurant has occupied the ground floor space since then, but moved out earlier this year because it wasn't making money."
This Statement is a flat out LIE. I was a regular customer at the restaurant (a Belgian Bistro) and it was not only extremely busy, but VERY VERY Profitable. That's the price of progress I guess. The way developers are allowed to buy up properties and kick out established tenants and businesses with LEASES is disgraceful!
But hey that's progress for you! Good luck Apple, this corner will be the new congregating place for the Bridge and Tunnel crowds on Saturday night. The streets will flow with Long Island Ice Teas and VOMIT, but there will be lots of CASH floating on the top too!
Dive right in Yuppie Scum!
You can't kick out a business with a valid lease, even if you are a new owner. You can buy them out.
But most likely, the restaurant wasn't doing as well as you thought it was.
Half of all new restaurants go out of business in the first year. They are almost always under capitalized. And some spots simply aren't good for restaurants.
It may seem odd today, but that area will be dramatically different over the next five years. With the construction of the Highline Park nearby. There are also about 20 major commercial, hotel, and residential construction projects happening up and down the Highline.
I think it will take more than five years before we see all of that. But, even five years is a long time.
In the shorter term, say, the next two years, this seems to be an odd choice. If they are paying $300 a foot there, it is VERY expensive.
We were paying just under $100 a foot at 928 Broadway for the first floor, basement, and second floor, when we moved out about three and a half.years ago.
I think it will take more than five years before we see all of that. But, even five years is a long time.
Have you been over there lately the entire area is a construction zone.
Construction on the High Line is well underway. The first phase is set to be finished 2008 with the entire park to be completed by 2012.
Recently completed IAC Building on 11th Avenue. Two blocks from the High Line construction.
100 Eleventh Aenue
The Standard Hotel
Caledonia, W. 17th St. between Ninth and Tenth
447 West 18th Street between 9th and 10th ave
245 Tenth Avenue
10 Chelsea
Congrats. Nice pics!
But, yeah, I've been around there. I'm not convinced that five years will do it
Congrats. Nice pics!
Do those images make him a better New Yorker than you?
I'm not convinced that five years will do it
We shall see in five years. The High Line is an extremely unique development. Paris is the only other city in the world with an elevated park in the middle of the city. Currently thousands of housing units and hundreds of new hotel rooms are being built to take advantage of the High Line, and it isn't even completed yet. Property values around the High Line are skyrocketing as major real estate developers all jocky to build on the High Line.
A section of the High Line before construction.
What that section will look like after the High Line is completed.
The brick building in all of these pictures was bought in 1986 for $800,000. Last year it sold to a developer for $12.5 million. He will build this condo on top of it. All of this is development is coming to an area that was dead five years ago because of the High Line.
To bring this back to Apple. The Meatpacking district is already a trendy shopping are that is bringing in expensive development and people will lots of money. Also Google's New York office is a block away and the IAC which owns various websites (Ask.com. Evite, Match.com, LendingTree) is nearby. Both of those heavy weights will attract other tech companies to migrate to the area.
Do those images make him a better New Yorker than you?
Certainly one who has more drive in assembling this than I do.
Considering my profession though, I've seen more photo's of New York than most people will ever care to see.
I also have a set of pictures of the Towers falling down that a friend shot from his 14th floor studio at Union Square.
That's something I hope to never have to see a duplication of.