Wall St. Journal dusts off and trots out the Grand Central Apple Store rumor

Seth Weintraub | May 22 2011 - 11:08 pm PT

In February, the New York Observer ran a story saying that Apple was eyeing a Grand Central Station New York Apple Store, which would be the borough’s 5th.

Reliable sources tell The Observer that the maker of ubiquitous iGadgets—from computers to cell phones—hopes to open a store in the transportation and retail hub, though it has yet to begin the long approval process necessary for opening in a city landmark.

Within days, other sites ran with that info, “confirmed” that a deal had been reached for “Apple’s largest retail space in the world”, saying an announcement was forthcoming and the store would open this Fall.

Obviously, that didn’t happen but today, the WSJ has renewed speculation that Apple may indeed be eyeing some retail space in the landmark train station, which caters to wealthy northern suburbs of New York City.

At 15,230 square feet, the space the MTA is putting up for rent is small compared to Apple’s other Manhattan locations.

The WSJ estimates that even at a smaller size, the tourist and commuter foot traffic could generate more revenues than the much bigger, 24-hour 5th Avenue store (Grand Central closes at Midnight and opens at around 6am.) But it is all still speculation at this point and any bidding for space in the building is a public process. Still, Apple is interested.

The MTA has spoken with Apple about the space and hopes that the company bids on it, said Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the authority. Other stores and restaurants could also bid on the space. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

So, in reality, we’re where we were at in February: nowhere.