Gindis finish assemblage to redevelop ex-Century 21 site

Century 21 is still working on its revival, but its owners are moving ahead with a retail complex at one of the chain’s previous locations.

ASG Equities, the real estate investment arm of the Gindi family, recently purchased a 12,500-square-foot lot at 472 86th Street in Bay Ridge, according to Crain’s. ASG paid $12.5 million for the Brooklyn lot, acquiring it from the Julian and Sharon Smith Family Trust.

The purchase was a relatively small one for the firm, but its significance exceeds its size. With the acquisition, ASG now owns all of the lots on the block, where the flagship Century 21 store once stood. The firm plans to demolish the buildings in the assemblage and develop a retail complex, which Crain’s reported is expected to span 150,000 square feet.

SVN CPEX’s Tim King and Dominic Mascara were part of the team representing the seller, according to Crain’s.

The lot recently purchased was leased by Century 21 for more than 60 years until the retailer filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2020 and shut all of its stores. ASG purchased the intellectual property of the brand out of bankruptcy for $9 million and plans to revive the chain, although new locations haven’t been opened stateside since last year’s announcement.

Bay Ridge is not the only place where ASG is looking to recapture some of the magic lost when Century 21 went dark. The Gindi family has been shopping for a tenant to fill the 60,000 square feet left vacant by the department store at 25 Church Street in the Financial District.

As of last year, the firm was offering free rent to prospective tenants while the space was being built out. The landlord was also putting walls back to separate the property from 22 Cortlandt Street.

[Crain’s] — Holden Walter-Warner