By: Andrew Carlson 

The long-vacant Century 21 department store site on 86th Street in Bay Ridge is finally poised for transformation after years of uncertainty. Developers MCB Real Estate and Osiris Ventures, who purchased the property in July, confirmed to The Brooklyn Paper (brooklynpaper.com) on Wednesday that demolition of the existing building is scheduled to begin in November.

Their $47.5 million plan will clear the way for Century Marketplace, a two-story retail complex envisioned as a vibrant anchor for the neighborhood’s bustling commercial corridor. According to Amy Bonitz, managing director of community development at MCB, construction is expected to commence in the first half of 2026, with the first stores slated to open in 2027.

For Bay Ridge residents, weary after four years of failed proposals and a cavernous empty storefront dominating one of the area’s busiest thoroughfares, the announcement marks a long-awaited step toward renewal.

Bonitz described the July acquisition as a decisive turning point. “Acquiring the property this July was a major milestone,” she said in a statement provided to brooklynpaper.com. “We wouldn’t have moved forward with the acquisition unless we were fully confident in our ability to execute our business plan for this important site.”

That statement, underscored by the developers’ financial commitment, appears designed to reassure residents who have grown skeptical after years of uncertainty. Since Century 21 abruptly shuttered in 2020 during the pandemic-induced retail downturn, multiple redevelopment concepts have been floated—and quietly abandoned.

The most prominent among them was a so-called “urban retail landscape” pitched in 2021, followed later by a proposal to repurpose the site as a residential complex. Neither materialized. The succession of false starts has left many in Bay Ridge frustrated and concerned about the broader health of 86th Street’s commercial strip.

As The Brooklyn Paper has chronicled, the absence of a tenant or plan for the Century 21 property has been widely seen as a drag on local retail momentum.

The proposed Century Marketplace aims to position itself as both a community hub and a regional retail draw. According to plans shared with brooklynpaper.com, the design emphasizes a mix of smaller retail and food spaces tailored to accommodate a variety of tenants.

These new offerings are intended to complement established neighbors along 86th Street such as Banana Republic, Sephora, Victoria’s Secret, and Pandora, creating what Bonitz described as a more “energetic and diverse” retail experience.

Larger anchor tenants will occupy spaces on the 87th Street side of the property as well as the second floor, which will be connected by a central atrium with a prominent new entrance fronting 86th Street. Renderings indicate a more modern architectural design than the bulky, fortress-like facade of the old Century 21, which many felt was an underwhelming gateway to one of southern Brooklyn’s most active retail strips.

Perhaps most tantalizing for local residents is the developers’ stated ambition to bring in a national grocery store as part of the tenant mix. The addition of a grocer, long requested by Bay Ridge residents, could help diversify a corridor dominated by fashion and specialty retailers.

For years, Bay Ridge residents have lamented the lack of a large, centrally located supermarket near 86th Street. While smaller food markets exist in the neighborhood, many residents say they are forced to travel to other parts of Brooklyn or Staten Island for the variety and scale offered by larger grocers.

Bonitz acknowledged these frustrations directly in her comments to brooklynpaper.com. “Developers are also working to bring a national grocer to the tenant mix, something local residents have long called for,” she said.

Securing such a tenant could prove vital to ensuring community support for the project. Beyond convenience, a grocery anchor would bring steady, year-round foot traffic to complement the more seasonal flows of retail shoppers, helping stabilize the strip for surrounding small businesses.

The transformation of the Century 21 site carries significant implications for Bay Ridge’s commercial economy. When the department store closed in 2020, it not only erased hundreds of local jobs but also left behind an enormous vacancy in the heart of the district.

As The Brooklyn Paper has reported over the years, the loss reverberated far beyond the building itself. The shuttered storefront reduced foot traffic for smaller adjacent businesses and contributed to concerns about long-term disinvestment.

If successful, Century Marketplace could reverse that trajectory. Developers say the project will generate substantial construction jobs in the short term and provide a boost to local employment once tenants move in. The addition of a grocery store and diversified retail mix could also attract more consistent traffic from outside Bay Ridge, further cementing 86th Street as a southern Brooklyn retail destination.

While the developers’ new plan has been met with cautious optimism, residents are far from universally convinced. Many Bay Ridge locals have grown jaded after years of broken promises and remain skeptical about the timeline.

Bonitz acknowledged this reality in her statement to brooklynpaper.com. “Responding to residents’ frustration over repeated delays, the team is committed to seeing the Century Marketplace through to completion,” she said.

That commitment will be tested over the next several years. Demolition is scheduled to begin in November, but construction will not start until 2026, meaning that the site will remain in limbo for nearly another two years. For some residents, the drawn-out timeline underscores a broader trend of sluggish development in New York’s outer boroughs, where ambitious projects frequently stall in the face of financing challenges, permitting delays, and shifting market conditions.

The symbolic importance of the Century 21 site should not be underestimated. For decades, the flagship store served as a defining landmark of Bay Ridge’s identity, drawing shoppers from across the borough and beyond. Its collapse during the pandemic was seen not only as an economic blow but as a cultural loss.

As The Brooklyn Paper has frequently noted, the closure left behind more than just a vacant shell; it created a psychic void in a neighborhood that had long prided itself on the Century 21 brand. Many longtime residents still speak wistfully of the store as an institution that anchored community life and symbolized Bay Ridge’s role in New York’s broader retail landscape.

Redeveloping the site is therefore about more than just filling square footage. It represents an opportunity to restore confidence in the district’s future—and perhaps to craft a new identity for a changing neighborhood.

The path forward is clear but lengthy. Demolition this fall will mark the first visible step in the process. Construction is expected to begin by mid-2026, with an opening targeted for 2027.

Between now and then, much depends on the developers’ ability to line up tenants, secure permits, and deliver on their promises of a diversified retail mix and a long-desired grocery anchor. Success could transform a vacant eyesore into a revitalized community hub; failure could reinforce skepticism about large-scale projects in Bay Ridge.

For now, however, optimism is cautiously returning. As Bonitz told brooklynpaper.com, “We are fully confident in our ability to execute our business plan for this important site.”

The saga of the Century 21 site has been one of Brooklyn’s most closely watched local development stories since the pandemic. Now, with demolition scheduled and financing secured, Bay Ridge may finally see progress on its most prominent vacant property.

The promise of Century Marketplace, as reported by The Brooklyn Paper (brooklynpaper.com), lies not only in new retail space but in the potential to restore confidence, attract investment, and provide amenities that residents have long sought.

Whether this ambitious redevelopment becomes a source of pride or disappointment will depend on the developers’ follow-through in the coming years. But after four years of uncertainty, the November demolition will at least deliver something tangible: proof that the long wait for the future of 86th Street is finally coming to an end.