By John Tozzi
The Motherhood Maternity apparel store at 211-41 26th Ave., closed and the Pacific Sunwear sportswear shop at 212-51 26th Ave. did not renew its lease.In addition, the Express clothing store is going through an extensive remodeling, workers said, with half the floor-space closed off. The store will reopen once the renovation is complete.Mary Hughes, vice president for leasing at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center, said a tenant is lined up for the Pacific Sun space but she could not disclose the details last week. Hughes described the changes as part of the shopping center's normal ebb and flow.”This is retail,” she said. “This is what happens in real estate.”Hughes added that Bay Terrace tries to maintain a variety of stores and entertainment that will appeal to different types of shoppers.”You always have to look out for the mix,” she said.Hughes dismissed the idea that the closed stores were an indication that Bay Terrace was losing some of its appeal to retailers or that high rents were driving tenants out. The shopping center remains “prime real estate,” she said.She said Motherhood Maternity, which operates at least a dozen locations in the metropolitan area, told the center it was consolidating stores under one roof. Pacific Sunwear, she said, is gravitating toward indoor mall locations rather than outdoor shopping centers.”The center is absolutely doing gangbusters,” Hughes said.Reach reporter John Tozzi by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 188.
