By Slash Lane

Published: 10:35 AM EST (07:35 AM PST)

Apple has allegedly backed out of plans to build a new retail store in the main terminal of New York City's Grand Central Terminal.

Citing a source with New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the New York Observer reported that Apple has abandoned its plans to build a 16,000-square-foot store on the balconies of Grand Central's main terminal. The project apparently never got past the preliminary stage, and it is believed that negotiations with the MTA fell through.

The publication originally reported in February that Apple was looking to build a store in New York's iconic Grand Central Terminal. The store placement would allow Apple to sell products like the iPhone and iPad to shoppers at the terminal station located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

But the project faced a "long approval process" to place the storefront right in the terminal. Part of the problem with the rumored project was the fact that it would be located in a city landmark.

Supporting the news that the project fell through, Jeffrey Roseman, executive vice president of Newmark Knight Frank Retail, also claimed, via Twitter, that Apple is not coming to Grand Central.

Leasing options available at the terminal would have made it difficult for Apple to build a store with the rumored 16,000 square foot size. The company would have likely needed to combine some retail spaces.