Gap's Growing in Forest Hills

Daily News
Sunday, August 06, 2000

By DICK SHERIDAN

The Gap is moving on up to the west side Ñ the west side of tony Austin St., the Queens shopping mecca in Forest Hills.

Developer Heskel Elias said last week that he recently concluded a deal with the national apparel retailer to move from its location east of Continental Ave. to a two-level, 22,000-square-foot Gap store he is building on property he owns in a joint venture with Federal Realty Investment Trust of Maryland west of Continental at 69-39 Austin St., between 70th Ave. and 69th Road.

For a number of years, the developer said, The Gap has been at 71-18 Austin St.

"They have about 5,000 square feet there," said Elias. "So they are quadrupling their space.

"We signed the deal two weeks ago, but it's been 2 1/2 years in the making. The Gap is a very large company, and it was a very complex procedure."

Elias explained that the plan first had to be approved locally, "and then the national people got involved."

Elias said construction is underway, and he expects to be able to turn over the property to The Gap around Nov. 1. The opening will take place sometime around Feb. 1, 2001, he said.

"It will be a new millennium concept store," the developer said, adding that the location will contain The Gap, BabyGap and GapKids. Banana Republic and Old Navy are other divisions of Gap Inc.

Meanwhile, another big-name retailer will be moving to the west end of Austin St. this fall.

Construction began Monday on a 6,600-square-foot Eddie Bauer sportswear outlet at 70-00 Austin St., said Cozette Phifer, spokeswoman for the Seattle-based chain.

"At present, we are looking at a tentative opening date of Oct. 19," said Phifer.

She said that the ground-floor site provided 5,300 square feet of display and selling area. "That's about the average for our sportswear outlets," Phifer said.

Noting that the retailer, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Spiegel Group, already has more than 520 outlets throughout the U.S. and Canada, Phifer said the Austin St. store would offer customers a new look.

"We're opening a prototype of our new-look store in Highland Park, Ill., later this month," she said. "It's going to be a lot lighter and brighter than the dark wood and dark colors that our stores featured previously. You'll see more modern fixtures and signage than you did before."

But, Phifer added, "we're not changing the style of our clothing, just the way in which we present it."

Phifer said Eddie Bauer selected the Austin St. site Ñ the company's first Queens location, though it has three stores in Manhattan and one in the Roosevelt Field shopping mall on Long Island Ñ because Forest Hills is an "area where we already have a strong catalogue business."

In addition, she said, the demographics of the area surrounding Austin St. seemed right for the company.

"The people there are older Ñ 35 to 45 Ñ they are more affluent, better-educated and are willing to pay more for high-quality products."

Austin St. shoppers are "trend-right, not trendy," Phifer said.

Eddie Bauer founded the company 80 years ago, opening a store in his hometown of Seattle and beginning a catalogue business. The company now offers its clothing, accessories and home furnishings online.

Stanley Markowitz, senior vice president for Muss Development, Eddie Bauer's new landlord, said the company had taken a 10-year lease worth about $4 million.

He said the clothier would be a better draw for shoppers to the west end of the commercial strip than the previous tenant, the crafts and hobby store Creativity.

"It [Eddie Bauer] fits in really well with the theme of the street, which is fashion and clothing," he said.

Muss also is landlord to nearby Men's Wearhouse and Barnes & Noble, and to a T.G.I.Friday's restaurant.

Austin St. was originally designed to act as a neighborhood services strip for the Forest Hills Gardens complex south of the Long Island Rail Road, which has a landmark station located at Continental Ave. and Burns St. The strip was still home to mom and pop stores, for the most part, until the 1970s.

Elias' Heskel Group began acquiring property and developing the street during the 1970s and '80s. In addition to The Gap property, his company now owns the nine-screen Midway theater, the Brandon Cinemas and other rental properties.

Austin St. now has a reputation as an upscale commercial strip with many small specialty shops, boutiques and big-name national retailers and numerous restaurants.

Until several years ago, much of the upscale development was along the eastern half of the 3/4-mile strip between Ascan Ave. and Yellowstone Blvd., with the dividing line being Continental/71st Ave.

Elias then lured The Disney Store to the west side, and other popular retailers followed.

Now, said Muss's Markowitz, "I think the west side is the better half."