Plans to redevelop the old Century 21 in Bay Ridge into an “urban retail landscape” have been scrapped, and owners are seeking to sell the site to a developer interested in building housing instead.
The Gindi family, who founded the now-defunct department store, have listed the lot and a collection of nearby buildings for sale, as was first reported by Crain’s. JLL Capital Markets, the commercial real estate company tasked with marketing the property, said the nearly 200,000-square-foot site is “well positioned to help address the acute need for additional multifamily housing in the Bay Ridge submarket.”
Last year, the family announced plans to transform 150,000 square feet of commercial space across 15 buildings into a vibrant shopping plaza with clothing, cosmetics, and other stores along with quality supermarkets.
But the JLL listing highlights the site’s potential for residential development, given the lack of high-quality multifamily buildings in the nabe and its proximity to the 86th Street subway station. The ground floor could still be developed as retail, per JLL.
The site could be one of the first to benefit from the state’s 485-x “Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers” law, the new tax exemption program that replaced 421-a; and the city’s pending “City of Yes” proposal, per JLL, which would reduce developer costs and ensure more affordable housing is included in the project.
“We are proud of our long history in the Bay Ridge community and remain dedicated to ensuring that the 86th Street corridor serves as a vibrant destination that will attract residents and visitors from across the borough and beyond for decades to come,” said George Karnoupakis, head of asset management for the Gindi Family’s real estate company ASG Equities, in a statement.
After the passage of 486-x and the promise of City of Yes, the company has decided that the “best use” for its Bay Ridge properties would include a mix of housing and street-level retail.
“We are working with JLL to explore all of our options for moving forward with a redevelopment, which could involve new joint venture partners or an outright sale to an experienced residential developer,” Karnoupakis said.
Century 21 was founded in Bay Ridge in 1961, but the company filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and closed all its stores. The closure was a loss for the neighborhood, where the store and the Gindi family were a mainstay.
In the years since, though, some locals have become frustrated for another reason. Many of the Gindi-owned buildings on 86th near Fifth Avenue have remained empty, and plans to overhaul the area have changed more than once — in 2022, developers planned to demolish the building to make way for new stores, which were set to open next year. Then came the “urban retail landscape” announcement, which hasn’t gained much traction since last year.
Council Member Justin Brannan, who worked with ASG Equities to develop the proposal last year, said that while it was “unfortunate” that the Gindi family had decided to forego their initial plan, he is “ultimately relieved that the properties can now go to a buyer who will be more motivated to fill the remaining empty storefronts and contribute to our vibrant and crucial retail corridor.”
“I’m committed to working with a new owner to ensure we can bring in the stores and businesses that our neighborhood values and needs, and I’m hopeful that with the announcement of this sale we may in fact be closer to achieving that goal than we were yesterday,” Brannan added.
