Report prices Apple SoHo expansion, identifies replacement
updated 05:30 pm EDT, Mon July 25, 2011
Deadline for SoHo project still unknown
Both the cost of Apple's SoHo expansion in New York City and the location of a temporary replacement store have been identified, says AppleInsider. An anonymous source claims to have been told by construction workers that an Apple Store being built at 72 Greene St. will handle SoHo's traffic while the original SoHo site, at 103 Prince, undergoes improvements. It is still unclear when Apple might move into 72 Greene, or when 103 Prince will return to normal operations.
Regarding the expansion, which involves a space formerly occupied by the US Postal Service, ifoAppleStore tells AI that a search through city building permits reveals that one was awarded last Thursday for a $1.4 million project by an architectural firm in Alameda, California, with which Apple has done work in the past. While Apple itself is unmentioned, the permit describes "Change of use at second floor and portion of cellar and first floor to retail store and accessory offices. Remove & construct partitions, doors, ceiling and finishes." ifo's Gary Allen suggests that "Apple will use the cellar for back-of-house, ground floor and partial second level for public retail, and part of the second for offices," although third, fourth and fifth floors are expected to stay unchanged and out of Apple's hands.
The SoHo store is one of Apple's oldest, with a history reaching back to July 2002. It is also however the smallest Apple outlet in Manhattan, and has had trouble coping with the sheer number of shoppers coming through its doors. Apple is in the process of expanding or refurbishing many of its locations, most notably the flagship Fifth Avenue store, which is having its glass cube replaced at an estimated price of nearly $6.7 million.
