By Jeff Lipton
The owners, Equity Management, or 445 Central Avenue LLC Corp., headquartered on Delancey Street in Manhattan, said they plan about $500,000 in improvements to the center over the next two years.
I want to do what is best for the area, said Baruch Singer, one of the owners of the Cedarhurst Center. We want to make it a first-rate business.
Singer said the deal was brokered to buy the center because it's a beautiful building, definitely a centerpiece. I think there's a lot of potential for the building.
Plans for the center include adding much more office space to the three-story building in a mall that already is fully occupied by offices on the second floor and a good portion of the first floor, mostly with financial management and trading services.
There's been much more demand for office space since September 11th, Singer said. People want to work locally. They want to work and live in the Five Towns. They don't want to take the train to work.
Dani Samson, owner of Carlin Equities, an equity trading company on the first floor of the building, said he opened the company in the center shortly before Sept. 11 after working at Rockefeller Center. I was working in midtown and I'm glad I made the move, said Samson, who lives in Woodmere. When I was at Rockefeller Center, the summer concerts were nice. But now I'm closer to my family.
The center has already seen some changes as Victoria's Secret, which anchored the ground-floor for about five years, closed last weekend. The store was apparently under-performing and its lease had expired.
Singer said the shop decided to close well before the building was sold. I didn't kick them out, Singer said. I had nothing to do with them leaving.
One business owner said losing Victoria's Secret was one of the biggest blows to the area because it drew consumers to the community.
Singer said he is seeking a nationally known retail tenant to replace Victoria's Secret.
The center's third floor will also undergo changes as Club Central will relocate to Spruce Street by the end of the year, to a larger building for their operations, owners of the fitness club said.
We are expanding, said Eric Roberts, one of the owners of Club Central. We're taking over a building on Spruce Street. We need more space.
Roberts said the new building will have three floors of fitness activity, with one floor devoted to a women's-only gym and the other two will be occupied by a co-ed gym and lockerrooms. It's been great here, said Roberts said of their time at the Cedarhurst Center. We've been thinking about this move for a long time and we need to move on.
Singer said he is willing to negotiate long-term leases with current tenants at market-going rates. We're not looking to replace people, he said.
He said he would not be opposed to opening retail shops on the second floor and moving the second-floor offices to the third floor. I would like to be creative and do what is best for the center and the community, he said. Business owners said they are in favor of creating more office space at the center.
The Cedarhurst Center has seen some tough financial times and was bought out of bankruptcy by a group in the 1990s.
Singer said he hammered out a deal to buy the center because he sees great upside to owning it and is familiar with the Five Towns, since his brother and cousin both live here. Besides, the seller is a friend of mine. I just thought it would be a good deal. People in this community are very nice and people are happy there. I want to make them more happy.
The building was constructed as the Central Theater before being converted to a mall in the late 1980's.
