Rumors of an upcoming Apple Store located in downtown Detroit have begun anew, as construction begins on a new retail site in the area. Currently, the nearest Apple Store to Woodward Avenue is Apple Somerset, which is in Troy, around 22 miles away.
There is currently retail construction work underway, behind three covered-up storefronts between 1426 and 1434 Woodward. Apple has already established an Apple Developer Academy program in Detroit in partnership with the local Gilbert Family Foundation in 2021. The co-founder Dan Gilbert of that foundation is the owner of the building where construction work is underway.
The Detroit Free Press reports:
On Tuesday, two downtown workers said they were told by people working construction that the covered-up storefronts between 1426 and 1434 Woodward — just north of the Shinola Hotel, and formerly occupied by side-by-side stores Madewell, Detroit is the New Black and Le Labo — are being prepped to become a future Apple Store.
And separately, a nearby retail employee told the Free Press that he couldn’t comment on the possibility of an Apple Store going into the covered storefronts, although when asked whether he saw any problem with reporting such news, said, “I can’t confirm, but it wouldn’t be a bad guess.”
During a visit to the storefronts, a reporter on Tuesday heard sawing sounds and spotted workmen inside. A worker at the site referred all comment to Gilbert’s real estate firm Bedrock, which didn’t respond to a Free Press message.
An Apple representative couldn’t be reached for comment.
While all of this appears to be a little bit of evidence, a little bit of wishful thinking, Apple does tend to put its stores in areas with other high-end stores, and both Gucci and Nike have retail locations in the area of the construction.
The three covered-up storefronts previously housed perfume retailer Le Labo, clothing store Madewell, and clothing/lifestyle brand Detroit is the New Black. All three of those stores were vacated in 2022.
(Image Credit: Detroit Free Press)
