Apple’s flagship 5th Avenue retail store has been undergoing renovations all year, and today Gothamist has shared an eery shot from above the scaffolding that shows the iconic glass cube totally removed. We learned last month that Apple was granted a permit to fully remove the existing glass structure as it plans to replace it for the third time.
The job to remove the gigantic glass structure was valued at $2 million, according to the permit granted by the city, while we learned that a new glass cube with similar dimensions will replace it.
The glass cube only serves as the surface level entrance, however, and the underground shopping area is expected to ‘more than double’ from 32,000 to 77,000 square feet when renovations are completed.
In the meantime, Apple has opened a temporary shopping area for customers nearby which we saw earlier this year. While Apple hasn’t revealed how its 5th Ave Apple Store will look after all the work is complete, one possible scenario presented so far is the glass spiral staircase within the glass cube replaced with a spiral ceramic version.
Apple is also expected to do a major refresh to older Apple Stores this month based on what we’re hearing. The updates appear to be timed with a new ‘Today at Apple’ initiative rolling out globally this month.
