With the recent arrival of Apple and the impending addition of Yelp in September spurring desire for the area, start-up technology firms continue to set up shop all over Union Square, the Wall Street Journal reported, despite rents in the area remaining significantly higher than in the Financial District.
Almost a dozen technology firms signed leases this year for a combined 135,000 square feet of office space in Union Square, according to the Union Square Partnership.
The average asking rent in the Financial District is currently $39 per square foot compared to $46 per square foot for Union Square, according to CBRE Research, but that doesn’t seem to matter much to the firms.
“It was such a morale drain,” Joe Essenfeld, CEO of JIBE, a service that helps match people with jobs through Facebook and Linkedin, said of working in the Financial District. [more]

Having secured its long-anticipated lease at Grand Central Terminal, tech retailer Apple has been busy picking up leases for more office space in the city.

According to the New York Post, Apple has inked a 45,000-square-foot deal at the Kaufman Organizations’s 100-104 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District to accommodate its iAd mobile advertising division.

Apple moved into the space on a short-term lease for only 10,000 square feet in January, but always planned to extend it for a longer time, as the division’s head count grows from 20 to 60.

Apple also signed leases for the 14th floor, which includes 16,079 square feet, and a large part of the 15th floor, the Post said. The asking rent was $55 a square foot. [more]

Rendering of Grand Central Apple Store

[Updated at 4.50 p.m. with information on the store's construction] The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has quietly
released the renderings of the new Apple Store planned for Grand
Central Terminal, on the agency’s website. The images (see above and below) show what the 23,000-square-foot
property on the terminal’s east balcony could look like. The MTA’s
finance committee approved the deal for Apple to lease the property at
the end of July. Apple is taking over the space from Charlie Palmer’s
Metrazur restaurant, and will be paying significantly higher rent: $1.1 million compared to $263,997. Apple
will also be making improvements to part of the leased property at its
own cost, including the installation of an elevator.

Walking through Grand Central late on Saturday night,The Real Deal spotted that construction on the store has begun (photos are available on our Facebook page). Workmen seemed to be removing the furnishings — mostly tables and chairs — from the former Métrazur space and erecting scaffolding. The construction manager declined any further access to the site. [more]

Construction on 7 Line extension (source: MTA Facebook page)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed increasing its debt plan to $6.9 billion for its preliminary 2010 to 2014 capital budget at its board meeting this morning, GlobeSt.com reported. Those funds will be one part of the MTA’s $24 billion total capital program, as it seeks to close a $9 billion budget gap, after it already cut $2 billion from the budget last week. The MTA has also considered selling its real estate assets — like its Madison Avenue headquarters — to offset capital program budget deficits. [more]

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s deal to bring both the Apple Store and Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack to Grand Central Terminal moved one step closer to reality this afternoon when the agency’s finance committee gave the plan its official go-ahead. The Apple Store will take over the terminal’s east balcony from Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur restaurant, as well as the northeast balcony, which is currently vacant, according to the agenda from today’s meeting. The initial term of the roughly 23,000-square-foot lease will be 10 years with the option for two, five-year renewal periods. Shake Shack’s 10-year lease will be for a 2,270-square-foot space in the dining concourse. [more]

Apple is coming to the Grand Central balcony

After months of speculation, it seems that tech giant Apple may have finally come to a deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to open a store in Grand Central Terminal. According to the New York Post, Apple has signed a 10-year deal to open a 23,000-square-foot store on the north and northeast balconies, pending approval from the MTA’s board of directors.

MTA documents seen by the Post show that Apple will pay $800,000 per year in rent and will pay to refurbish the space. After ten years, that fee would increase to $1 million per year.

Apple’s prospective space was formerly occupied by Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur restaurant, which paid almost half a million less than what Apple will be paying, the Post said. [more]

Ten short years ago the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was scratching and clawing for whatever high-profile tenant it could land in the newly renovated Grand Central Terminal. Today, the MTA has a strict process for approving whatever companies apply for space in the transit hub.

According to the New York Times, the agency can be a difficult landlord as it doesn’t display any loyalty to tenants whose leases expire — current tenants must re-apply in a manner similar to any prospective tenants — and insists on the right to approve materials, design plans and colors that shop owners use.
[more]

Apple could be coming to the Grand Central balcony

Apple is among the retailers interested in renting a 15,320-square-foot space in Grand Central Terminal that comprises two adjacent balconies on the north and east sides of the transit hub, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking a single renter for the space, part of which is currently occupied by Metrazur restaurant, which is set to close July 1. Though Charlie Palmer, the celebrity chef who runs the restaurant, said the location is “doing well,” he is seeking to profit off the money a new tenant would pay him to vacate the lease, which is not set to expire until 2019. According to the Journal, the MTA hopes and expects that Apple will get in on the bidding. [more]

A screenshot of the application

New York City residential brokerage Citi Habitats unveiled its new iPhone application today, allowing users to browse all the firm’s listings from their mobile device. The announcement comes on the heels of Trulia.com’s new iPad application, which it announced via Twitter today. Citi Habitats’ free application includes a built-in location finder, which displays both apartment listings and dining and nightlife options nearby. TRD [more]

Grand Central

Wondering how Apple is planning to fit its largest retail store ever in the already crowded Grand Central Station? According to the Post, the iMegastore may take over the east and northeast balconies of the transit hub to create a 16,000-square-foot space for its iMerchandise. The northeast balcony, next to Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, is currently vacant, but Charlie Palmer’s Métrazur restaurant is currently located on the east balcony, and sources said its partners are already on the lookout for new spots. Reps from Métrazur and Apple wouldn’t comment on the gossip. [Post]  [more]