Former Bay Ridge Century 21 Site Up for Redevelopment After $47.5M Sale

The original Century 21 department store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, has traded hands for $47.5 million, Commercial Observer has learned.

Longtime owner of the chain, ASG Equities, has been looking for a buyer for the property at 458 86th Street since September 2024, and found a taker in the partnership of MCB Real Estate and Osiris Ventures, which plans a $100 million redevelopment, JLL announced.

The buyers are planning a grocery-anchored retail development known as Century Marketplace in place of the Gindi family-owned property, which closed in 2020 amidst the pandemic and has sat vacant for the last five years.

“The acquisition expands upon MCB’s growing portfolio in Brooklyn, where we will apply our expertise in optimizing urban retail developments,” P. David Bramble, co-founder and managing partner of MCB Real Estate, said in a statement. “Bay Ridge has a booming population but lacks quality retail options, a real estate gap MCB and Osiris are uniquely positioned to fill. Century Marketplace will meet that demand and awaken a long-dormant property in the heart of the neighborhood.”

A JLL Capital Markets team of Ethan Stanton, Jeffrey Julien, Brendan Maddigan and Michael Mazzara represented the seller in the transaction.

“Eighty-sixth Street has always been a cornerstone of southern Brooklyn retail, and this transaction reflects the continued demand for well-located, high-foot-traffic assets,” Stanton said in a statement. “We’ve handled some of the borough’s most significant retail deals, and this one has the potential to truly redefine the corridor.”

ASG Equities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The buyers plan to begin development on the 95,000-square-foot retail center later this year.

While the Century 21 brand has fallen on hard times, having declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, ASG Equities has managed to keep some of its status alive by reopening the Financial District flagship store at 22 Cortlandt Street in 2023 at a reduced footprint.

The company was under no illusion that the Bay Ridge location would reopen despite it’s being the oldest Century 21 location dating to the 1960s. The Gindi family obtained demolition permits for the 170,000-square-foot site in 2022, stating at the time that they planned to redevelop it themselves. 

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