Report: Apple to open new retail location at historic Tower Theatre in Los Angeles

According to a new report from LA Business Journal, Apple is in the process of securing real estate space for a new store in Los Angeles. The store will reportedly be located at the historic Tower Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, which could help revitalize the area’s retail business as a whole.

The Apple Store would be located at 800 S. Broadway, although specific details regarding the size of the store are still unclear. Additionally, it’s unknown how much Apple is paying for this retail space. Currently, there is over 250,000-square-feet of vacant retail space on Broadway between First Street and Olympic Boulevard, so Apple likely isn’t paying an extraordinary amount of money for the space.

As is usually the case when an Apple Store is opened in a new area, retail space around it quickly becomes a hot commodity. Lorena Tomb, an agent for real estate investment firm Lang Lasalle, noted that Apple’s retail presence at the Tower Theatre will have positive effects on the area’s retail market as a whole:

“If you have a retailer like Apple that comes to Broadway, everyone else will follow,” said Jones Lang LaSalle agent Lorena Tomb. “It’s going to push rents up, and it’s going to change the entire street.”

The historic Tower Theatre was built in 1927 and contains about 7,500-square-feet of theatre space and 7,500-square-feet of basement space. There’s also street-facing retail space that Apple could occupy, although most of it is currently held by short-term renters.

Apple has reportedly been on the hunt for new retail space in Los Angeles “for months,” while multiple real estate brokers have been courting the company for its business. Apple, however, is allegedly only interested in historic spaces on Broadway, with the Tower Theatre being the first choice.

As noted by LA Business Journal, Apple currently has retail stores at Glendale Galleria, Americana at Brand, Beverly Center, Westfield Century City, Grove, Third Street Promenade, and on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

A report last year noted Apple’s significant ability to drive mall traffic, which allows it to negotiate lower rent. Both of these factors are probably being taken into considering for its hunt for new space in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Microsoft isn’t doing so hot…