Apple is moving forward with plans to open a retail store in the historic Carnegie Library in Mount Vernon Square, according to the Washington Business Journal. Discussions about the possibility of Apple opening a retail store in the Washington D.C. venue were first reported earlier this year.
Apple is expected to “renovate the 113-year-old building across the street from the Washington Convention Center” and provide a “payment of between $1 million and $2 million to offset any losses for the building at 801 K St. NW” while paying market rent at the venue.
The new retail store is expected to be on the scale of recent Apple Store designs in San Francisco and London with designers Foster + Partners involved.
For the Carnegie Library, an investment from Apple is expected to be a benefit the venue as well:
For Apple, a new retail location at Carnegie Library would put it just a few miles away from its other D.C. retail store in Georgetown on Wisconsin Avenue.
“This repositions the Carnegie Library, which has been a really under-leveraged asset,” Brown said. “Apple is investing tens of millions of dollars to restore this amazing building so we can provide an amenity for our 700,000 residents and 20 million visitors.”
There will be an educational component to the deal, Brown said.
The deal to green light Apple’s plans hasn’t yet been finalized, but a vote from Events D.C.’s board is expected to pass today. A 10-year lease with two five-year extensions is being proposed for the future Apple Store.
