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COURIER LIFE, MARCH 25-31, 2022
A project ‘never meant to be’
Real estate rep behind Century 21 revamp spills how owners came to choose demolition
BY JESSICA PARKS
When cousins Sonny
and Al Gindi opened Century
21’s flagship location in
1961, they quickly learned
they were onto something.
The Bay Ridge department
store gained popularity
seemingly overnight due to
its affordable pricing, and
the Gindi family went on
to open a dozen other locations
— and expand its footprint
on 86th Street by buying
up property along the
thoroughfare.
After more than 50
years, owners, citing a lack
of COVID-related payout
from their insurance company,
filed for bankruptcy
at the end of 2020, and the
sprawling southern Brooklyn
department store closed
its doors. Though the closure
left a hole in the hearts
of Brooklynites, a coming
demolition of the space
promised to make room for
new business that the shopping
strip — still rebounding
from the pandemic —
has never seen before.
But, project leaders say
it was never meant to be
this way.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic
with its overreaching
impact in New York
City just devastated their
business,” said Gene Spiegelman,
vice chair and
principal at RIPCO, the
commercial real estate
company managing Century
21’s demolition, and
the space’s revitalization.
“And the lack of post-recovery
has kept them on the
sidelines, figuring out what
to do with it in the future.”
After demolition permits
were filed for 448 and
460 86th St., word of coming
“Class A retail” began
to spread — squashing rumors
of a second-coming
for the store.
Sources close to the
project said the demolition
was spurred by Century
21’s uniquely department
store layout.
“It was a very complicated
infrastructure of
buildings,” Spiegelman
confirmed. “A determination
was made that new construction
would be best.”
As is, Century 21 would
fit multiple retailers, many
of which have “very, very
specific requirements”
when choosing a new space
— and so does the city.
“There’s considerations towards
all the regulations
and all the new energy-efficiency
codes that are coming
into play, you know
many different factors that
new construction is the
way to go,” he said.
Construction is set to
begin in 2023, with an expected
completion of late
2025, according to Spiegelman.
RIPCO’s project also
includes the former TJ
Maxx store at 502 86th St.,
and a 290-car, multi-level
parking garage nearby.
Spiegelmann said the
“anchors” — stores that
draw shoppers to the area
— will be signed on before
the project gets underway,
but over time, RIPCO is
hoping to lease out to a variety
of retailers “that has
not been represented” in
Bay Ridge before.
The 150,000-square-foot
development could cost as
much as $45 million, though
that estimate is expected to
change closer to the start of
construction. In the meantime,
the Siegelman urged
local skeptics to remember
that the family behind the
project is the same family
that’s been in the community’s
corner all along.
“These are people who
have been involved here
for decades who had to
blaze forward,” he said of
the Gindi family, who live
in Bay Ridge. “They are
going to be the owners forever,
they have been longterm
owners and plan to be
longer-term owners.”
And Spiegelman should
know — RIPCO has had a
long-standing relationship
with the Gindi family, and
he himself worked as the
real estate representative
for Century 21’s properties
over the course of the last
decade.
“I have been through
the best and the worst,” he
said.
A line of people wait to shop at Century 21 before its closure in
late 2020. File photo by Paul Frangipane
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