Century 21 Bay Ridge Site Sold, Set to Become ‘Century Marketplace’

BROOKLYN – After years of uncertainty and false starts, the former Century 21 building in Bay Ridge — long owned by the Jewish Gindi family — has been sold for $47.5 million to MBC Real Estate and Osiris Ventures.

The new owners plan a $100 million redevelopment called “Century Marketplace,” transforming the 95,000-square-foot site at 86th Street into a vibrant retail complex anchored by a major grocery store. Plans include a newly constructed two-story building with an open atrium facing 86th Street, modernized interiors, and multiple street-level storefronts to attract both local shoppers and visitors.

Century 21 was founded in Bay Ridge in 1961 by the Gindi family, becoming a retail landmark for decades. Known for its designer discounts, the store closed in 2020 after declaring bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a major gap in the neighborhood’s commercial life. Although the brand reopened a Manhattan flagship in 2023, its Brooklyn home remained shuttered.

Several redevelopment proposals came and went — including an “urban retail landscape” and later a residential project — but none materialized, frustrating residents who saw the property languish in the heart of one of Brooklyn’s busiest shopping corridors.

Council Member Justin Brannan, a vocal supporter of revitalizing the site, praised the sale. “The importance of 86th Street as a retail shopping destination and hub of local employment simply cannot be overstated,” he said, noting the new project could also boost small businesses on nearby Third and Fifth Avenues.

Construction on Century Marketplace is expected to begin later this year, with vendor announcements coming in the months ahead. Local leaders hope it will not only revive the block but restore some of the energy lost since Century 21’s closure.

The Gindi Family: Bay Ridge Roots in New York Retail
The Jewish Gindi family has been a fixture in New York retail for more than six decades. Syrian-Jewish immigrants, the Gindis opened the first Century 21 department store in Bay Ridge in 1961, turning it into a discount designer shopping destination that drew customers from across the city.

The Bay Ridge flagship became both a neighborhood anchor and a symbol of the family’s business success. The Gindis expanded Century 21 to multiple locations across the New York area and beyond, with its Lower Manhattan store famously surviving and reopening after the 9/11 attacks just blocks away.

In 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, closing all stores. While the brand returned to its Manhattan location in 2023, the Bay Ridge property — still owned by the family’s ASG Equities real estate arm — remained empty until its recent sale.

For many locals, the family’s connection to the site is part of Bay Ridge’s commercial history, making the building’s transformation into “Century Marketplace” both an end of an era and the start of a new chapter.