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Century 21’s closure could bring lead to more
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COURIER L 2 IFE, SEPT. 25-OCT. 1, 2020
BY JESSICA PARKS
As many fear the lasting
effect the loss of Bay Ridge’s
longtime fashion retailer
Century 21 will have on the
neighborhood economy, a
Brooklyn real estate consultant
suggests the change may
be a blessing once the initial
sting subsides.
“In the short term, there
will clearly be some pain,”
said Timothy King, a managing
partner at boroughbased
CPEX Real Estate. “But
I think in the long term it
will ultimately end up being
a blessing for the neighborhood.”
Century 21 on Sept. 10 announced
its plans to close all
13 of its stores in New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Florida, including its original
location on 86th Street in Bay
Ridge — a closure neighborhood
offi cials fear will devastate
the burgeoning business
district. King, however, believes
not all hope is lost for
the south Brooklyn shopping
strip.
King, who previously sat
on the board of the 86th Street
Business Improvement District
for a number of years,
suspects that the soon-to-bevacant,
19,800 square-foot retail
space will be converted
into four or fi ve smaller storefronts
instead of the twofronted,
three-story behemoth
it is today.
“It brings a stronger and
wider mix of tenants, so it’s
likely that the 86th Street strip
will retain its preeminence as
a retail hub,” King said, “because
if it’s a more diverse retail
offering, it is likely that a
higher percentage of the folks
that are coming specifi cally
The Century 21 department store on 86th Street fi led for bankruptcy this month.
to one of those new stores
may also visit some of the surrounding
retail.”
Century 21 typically attracts
clientele who purchase
what they need at the department
store and leave the commercial
area without shopping
at any other stores, he
said — adding that shoppers
might venture further along
the avenue if specialty stores
instead fi lled the space.
“Century was an anchor
in the sense they drew a lot of
folks there,” King said. “They
were also to some extent very
much a destination retailer,
meaning people would come,
go into Century and probably
a signifi cant portion did not
patronize the other stores.”
The Gindi family, the current
owners and founders of
Century 21, opened up their
fl agship store on Bay Ridge’s
86th Street in 1961. Nearly six
decades later, the company
fi led for bankruptcy earlier
this month after the retailer’s
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