Century 21 Not Reopening Financial District Flagship
By Nicholas Rizzi April 2, 2021 1:38 pm
reprints
Department store chain Century 21’s return to New York City does not include its longtime Financial District outpost at 25 Church Street.
The Gindi family, which owns Century 21 as well as 25 Church Street landlord ASG Equities, has started to look for new tenants to take over the 60,000-square-foot space from Century 21, Crain’s New York Business reported.
ASG, which has no ownership interest in Century 21 and just leases space to the brand, has been adding walls to subdivide the 25 Church retail space and offering free rent to try to lure tenants, Crain’s reported.
Representatives from Century 21 and ASG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Century 21 was founded by the Gindi family in 1961 with a store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, then followed with the Financial District outpost that same year and became a fixture in the city. It eventually grew to 13 stores in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania.
The chain filed for Chapter 11 in September, blaming its insurance companies which refused to cover $175 million in losses sustained during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Gindi family bought Century 21’s intellectual property out of bankruptcy in February with plans to revive the brand.
Century 21’s return will start in South Korea and it’s looking to open shops in New York City again, but has not announced those details yet.
