iRatner! Apple Digging Atlantic Yards for First Brooklyn Store
By Matt Chaban January 11, 2011 7:30 pm
reprints
Our colleague Jotham Sederstrom broke some shocking news recently and nobody noticed. Why? Because they’re not subscribed to the new Commercial Observer Now tri-weekly newsletter. Subscribers get the first word on the big deals going on in the city before anyone else, such as Marty Markowitz’s dream finally coming true:
With plans dashed for a fifth Apple store on 34th Street late last year, sources say the tech behemoth is now setting its sights on a location near the proposed Atlantic Yards arena in Brooklyn, future home to the Nets basketball team.
Since last month, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has been informally chatting with potential landlords, including Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner, about leasing options in the area, a source with ties to Forest City Ratner told The Commercial Observer on Wednesday.
“They’ve been very gun shy, the Apple (AAPL) people,” said the source, who refused to be identified because the person was not given clearance to speak publicly. “They’re focusing on the arena area right now, but there’s no space. But it’s the only place in Brooklyn that’s super visible, close to trains and about as close as you can get to a 24-hour community in the borough.”
Spokespeople for Forest City Ratner and Apple did not immediately return calls Wednesday. – Jotham Sederstrom
