MIDTOWN EAST — The highly visible glass cube above Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store will be taken down, at least temporarily, while the store undergoes a major renovation, records show.
Boston Properties, which owns the property at 767 Fifth Ave. with Zhang Xin and the Safra banking family, filed an application to dismantle the entire cube in mid-March at a cost of $2 million, a Department of Buildings filing shows.
The DOB approved the application on Monday, records show.
It was unclear when the structure would be taken down, but the location is currently undergoing an expansion from 32,000 square feet to 77,000 square feet, according to The Real Deal. The store has been relocated to the former FAO Schwarz space at the same address in the meantime.
This isn't the first time the glass cube has been taken down. In 2011, it underwent a $6.7 million redesign, which reduced the number of glass panes from 90 to 15, using larger panes of glass and fewer joints.
Apple and Boston Properties did not immediately return calls for comment Thursday.
