Google eyeing Manhattan retail space within block of SoHo Apple Store for first permanent brick & mortar shop

Crain’s New York reports that Google could be close to signing a lease in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood that would put the company’s first standalone retail store next to several high-end retailers.

The company is apparently interested in 131 Greene St., a roughly 4,100 square foot space located next to high-end fashion retailers like Stella McCartney and Tiffany and about a block away from Apple’s existing SoHo store:

Retail experts say that deep-pocketed tech giant Google is near to signing a lease at 131 Greene St. for what would be its first brick-and-mortar store in the country. Some say its arrival could put Greene Street on shoppers’ maps, just as the arrival of another tech titan did for a nearby Prince Street 13 years ago.

The images above come from recent retail listing for the space that also provides a list of nearby tenants, including: Apple, Paul Smith, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, B&B Italia, Camper, Stella McCartney, Tiffany & Co. , and Louis Vuitton.

There has been a lot of talk about Google getting more serious about selling its products direct to customers through brick-and-mortar retail locations in recent months. We reported that Google had plans for retail last year ahead of its temporary Winter Wonderlab stores that opened during the holidays. We’ve seen a number of store-within-a-store retail locations from Google in Best Buys and other retailers around the globe, as well as Android Nation retail stores in emerging markets like India, but the Greene St. store would mark Google’s first real retail effort in the US if the reports turn out to be true.

Google is also continuing work on barges that are expected to act as floating showrooms in the near future, but it’s unclear if there will ultimately be a retail side to that project.