ASG Equities Looking for Partners or Buyers of Former Bay Ridge Century 21

The Gindi family’s ASG Equities is looking for a new joint venture partner or a buyer for the former home of Century 21 in Bay Ridge, brokers on the deal announced.

Clear of its legal battle with Ben Ashkenazy, ASG Equities wants to either build housing and retail at the development site at 458 86th Street or just sell off the 64,468-square-foot lot, which currently has a 186,071-square-foot commercial building on it, according to the company and its brokers.

JLL Capital Markets is on the hunt for a partner or buyer of the property where it says 200,000 buildable square feet is included as of right and it could be eligible for the new 485x tax incentive or see benefits from the Mayor Eric Adams’s City of Yes program currently working its way through approvals.

“In light of the key acquisitions we have made within the assemblage, the State Legislature’s recent passage of the 485-x tax abatement and the likely approval of the mayor’s City of Yes housing program, we now believe the highest and best use for our Bay Ridge properties involves a mix of much-needed affordable and market rate apartments, along with a host of new street-level retail,” George Karnoupakis, head of asset management at ASG Equities, said in a statement.

The property currently has 62,792 square feet of retail space and 123,279 square feet of parking across six stories. Century 21, which is also owned by ASG Equities, had a store at the location for decades until the department store filed for bankruptcy in September 2020, resulting in the closure of 13 stores in New York City.

That included its Financial District flagship store at 22 Cortlandt Street which later reopened early 2023. However, the Bay Ridge outpost did not get a revival and still remains shuttered.

At one point in March 2022, the Bay Ridge building where Century 21 was located for 60 years was slated for demolition. ASG had plans to turn the site into a 150,000-square-foot “urban retail landscape” spanning 15 buildings on 86th and 87th streets and secured a $20 million loan for the development in November, according to the Gothamist and Crain’s New York Business.

JLL’s Ethan Stanton, Jeffrey Julien, Michael Mazzara and Brendan Maddigan are the brokers securing a deal for ASG Equities, which did not disclose what it envisions for a potential redevelopment of the site or how much ASG is looking to get for the property.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.