Apple will open flagship store in Carnegie Library

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in December 2016 and has been updated with the most recent information.

In Mt. Vernon Square, Apple has agreed to open a flagship store in the 113-year-old Carnegie Library. First reported by Washington Business Journal, the tech giant has been in talks with D.C.’s convention and sports authority, Events DC, for several months now for Apple’s second location in the District. The first location is in Georgetown.

Lease terms have not yet been finalized. The proposal is expected to be a 10-year-term with two five-year extensions. To offset any losses at Carnegie Library, Apple will pay up to $2 million.

Award winning British architects Foster + Partners of London will redesign the 63,000-square-foot building in D.C.

Washington Business Journal further reported

“There will be an educational component to the deal, [Events D.C. Chair Max] Brown said. Details will be worked out, but the plan is to “connect youth to opportunities in programming, creative design, summer jobs and permanent jobs,” he said. He envisions training programs and after-school programs, both at the Carnegie Library site and in the community, particularly east of the river in Anacostia.”

Rendering via Apple

In order for the proposal to become reality, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Review Board will have to approve the plans.

This isn’t the first time there have been efforts to re-purpose the Carnegie Library, the first desegregated public building in the city. There have also been plans for a local history museum, music museum, and a new location for the International Spy Museum inside the space. None of these plans worked out.

There are no reports yet as to where the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. will relocate to since it is headquartered in the Carnegie Library, which is currently closed due to mold.

• Exclusive: Apple agrees to open flagship store at Carnegie Library [Washington Business Journal]

• Carnegie Library may become an Apple store [Curbed DC]