Apple Store in Downtown Montréal Reportedly Moving to 125-Year-Old Heritage Building

[MacRumors]

Apple is preparing to move its retail store on Saint-Catherine Street in Montréal, Québec, according to Canadian newspaper La Presse.

The current Apple Sainte-Catherine store​

The report cites three sources who said Apple will be opening a new retail store in a 125-year-old heritage building located at 1255 Saint-Catherine Street, which would be less than 100 meters away from the company's current store on the street. Apple's contractors are said to be in the process of completing major renovations to the building, which has been vacant for a few years after clothing retailer Ardene left the space.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last year reported that Apple was considering relocating its Saint-Catherine store. At the time, he said Apple aimed to open the new store in February 2025, but the timeframe could change. La Presse reported that Apple's current space on the street is already listed as available for lease online. Apple has not publicly announced any plans to relocate the store, and it did not respond to our inquiry.

1255 Sainte-Catherine Street (Image Credit: LoopNet)​

Apple's existing two-floor store on Sainte-Catherine Street first opened in 2008, in Montréal's downtown Ville-Marie area. The store will be temporarily closed for one day on Tuesday, April 23, for reasons unclear, according to Apple's website.

The new location would be Apple's first store within a historic building in Canada, with many of the company's other locations in the country found in indoor shopping malls. Apple recently relocated its store at the Square One shopping mall in Mississauga, Ontario, just west of Toronto, as it continues to modernize its Canadian retail fleet.

Thanks, Kevin!

Article Link: Apple Store in Downtown Montréal Reportedly Moving to 125-Year-Old Heritage Building

 

[Blackstick]

Beautiful historic building. The renovation costs will be extreme. We just did a 4 story build out in a building in NYC from the 1880s. Those plaster ceilings, man...

 

[ghanwani]

Does Apple own or lease these stores in historic buildings?

 

[jb310]

This might be the most classy-looking Apple store I've ever seen. 😮

 

[ericthered926]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I wish they wouldn’t do this. I was in DC last year and stopped by the store near the national portrait gallery and really didn’t like it, super weird place.

 

[Falkn]

Does Apple own or lease these stores in historic buildings?

Lease. The old one is up for lease on Cogir’s website. (Cogir owns the building)

 

[Zadillo]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I wish they wouldn’t do this. I was in DC last year and stopped by the store near the national portrait gallery and really didn’t like it, super weird place.

It was a partially closed and unused building that Apple helped to restore, and currently shares the building with the DC History Center:

About the Carnegie Library - DC History Center

Andrew Carnegie donated $250,000 to build the elaborate Beaux-Arts gem on Mount Vernon Square. It opened as the Washington Public Library in 1903.

dchistory.org

"From 1972 to 1977, the building sat unused. In 1977 the University of the District of Columbia proposed to make it the anchor for a Mt. Vernon Square campus, but later abandoned the plans. In 1999 the District of Columbia granted the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. a 99-year lease on the building to house an urban history museum. The Historical Society raised more than $20 million to renovate the building and opened the City Museum in 2003. Though the museum closed its doors in 2004, the DC History Center has continued to operate its Kiplinger Research Library, exhibits, and programs from the Carnegie Library.

In 2016 Apple executed an agreement with Events DC, which manages the building, to restore the Carnegie Library and lease some space for a store. In 2019 Apple, in partnership with DC History Center and Events DC, completed the restoration, creating today’s architectural gem in downtown DC. Today Apple shares the building with the DC History Center."

 

[Joe Rossignol]

This might be the most classy-looking Apple store I've ever seen. 😮

You should download the Facades app or look at applestorefronts.appspot.com. There are many classy ones that I find nicer or at the very least equal vs. the planned Montreal one.

 

[RigoStar]

Still not very well located. It's too far to the west. Would be nice more central near McGill College and near Eaton Centre.

 

[citysnaps]

Apple always does a first class job restoring (and bringing up to modern/current building codes) heritage buildings, many of which were dilapidated and would have likely been demolished. It costs a ton of money, but worth it saving the buildings.

 

[mattoruu]

Thanks, Kevin!

Quick question: Who is Kevin? Did Kevin provide some information used in this article?

 

[PsykX]

Let's hope it'll be much bigger.
I went a few times to this store and always left the place almost insane.

 

[crsh1976]

Great choice for a new location, the current one has always felt cramped.

 

[blazerunner]

This is sad... a soulless corporate entity taking over a beautiful building only to ram a bunch of brand cheerleaders gawking over shiny iphones like sheep just to fill the pockets of a THREE TRILLION DOLLAR COMPANY.

Ugh.

 

[crsh1976]

Still not very well located. It's too far to the west. Would be nice more central near McGill College and near Eaton Centre.

Goodness, McGill is literally 5 minutes away by foot.

 

[tkaravou]

It's literally moving 2 buildings away. It's moving from next to the Ogilvy building to right next to the Ogilvy building. Ironically, this is also next to Hermes Montreal.

 

[citysnaps]

This is sad... a soulless corporate entity taking over a beautiful building only to ram a bunch of brand cheerleaders gawking over shiny iphones like sheep just to fill the pockets of a THREE TRILLION DOLLAR COMPANY.

Ugh.

Yeah... I guess it's better to let those dilapidated heritage buildings be demolished as the costs for renovations and bringing them up to modern (and required) commercial building codes isn't something most companies want to deal with.

 

[markgpearse]

The City of Montreal has destroyed downtown shopping. St. Catherine St is nothing like it was 50 years ago.

 

[blazerunner]

Yeah... I guess it's better to let those dilapidated heritage buildings be demolished as the costs for renovations and bringing them up to modern (and required) commercial building codes isn't something most companies want to deal with.

Yah, that's the only other alternative, right?

👎

 

[citysnaps]

Yah, that's the only other alternative, right?

👎

Other than demolition and building a new commercial space, what would you do with a dilapidated heritage building you couldn't lease (and likely couldn't demolish and start fresh with a new building) because the building department wouldn't grant a certificate of occupancy unless someone like Apple came along with $$$$$$$ to restore and bring up to modern commercial building codes?

 

[carswell]

Glad to see this happening. It's a beautiful building that has for several years housed (on the ground floor) a number of forgettable "fashion" stores, none of them doing much in terms of decor, highlighting the building's beautiful bones or staying put for very long (probably couldn't afford the rent; not a problem for Apple). Plus the current store is often overcrowded, especially the upstairs Genius Bar. And so happy to see Apple's staying in the centre city instead of relocating to the gawdawful soon-to-open luxury (read "tacky") Royalmount shopping mall located far from downtown, hundreds of metres from public transit and next to the intersection of the Décarie Expressway and Metropolitan, the most congested in Canada.

 

[acorntoy]

This might be the most classy-looking Apple store I've ever seen. 😮

My favorite is the Tower Theatre store in DTLA.

 

[Joe Rossignol]

Quick question: Who is Kevin? Did Kevin provide some information used in this article?

Yes, tipster who sent in the La Presse article.

 

[PantherKang]

Nice. This is interesting to me.

 

[AppleTO]

Oh wow, I bet the building is going to look amazing when they are done.