Bay Ridge finally has a replacement for the once-beloved and now-expired Modell’s Sporting Goods on 86th Street. A family entertainment center is set to replace the former retailer in the next year.
A source close to the real estate deal says Launch Family Entertainment, an amusement franchise with locations across the U.S., has taken over the greater portion of the space, save for a small storefront that’s still on the market.
According to Evan Schuckman of RIPCO Real Estate, Launch plans to open within the next year after finishing the necessary renovations.
Per their website, Launch offers an array of attractions suitable for all ages, including arcade games, a trampoline park, laser tag and a battle pit. Plans for the Brooklyn Center also include a restaurant for families to enjoy while they play.
Modell’s originally shut down its Bay Ridge location on 86th Street after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2020. All of the retail stores were closed by August of that same year.
The roughly 30,000-square-foot building has sat empty since then.
Bay Ridge and its popular 86th Street have experienced a lot of developmental change since the pandemic, including the closure of the flagship Century 21 store just across 5th Avenue from Modell’s, and the announcement that an urban retail conglomerate would revive the store’s former space.
A spokesperson with ASG Equities, the real estate firm of the Gindi family, which owned Century 21, the team has also already signed a lease with New York-Presbyterian to renovate the former TJ Maxx building on 86th Street. They plan to fill the storefronts with top-quality retail that can become “center of commerce and business,” as previously reported by Brooklyn Paper.
“The vibrancy of the 86th Street commercial corridor is crucial to our local economic ecosystem not only as a retail shopping destination but a hub of local employment,” Council Member Justin Brannan said of the ASG Equities deal last summer. “A rising tide lifts all boats — the more people shopping on 86th Street, the more economic activity we’ll see for our small businesses and restaurants along 3rd and 5th Avenues.”
Launch’s opening in Bay Ridge will be the franchise’s first in Brooklyn but will mark their second New York City location with the first being in Queens.