The
Queens Courier |
Confidence among consumers, merchants and major retailing chains in Forest Hills is unprecedented, according to the area's impresario, Heskel Elias. While tennis is clearly the star attraction in Forest Hills this week-the U.S. Open had its roots at the West Side Tennis Club-it's the commercial development of Austin Street that has altered the life of this posh neighborhood. Elias, the developer who has combined the "village" with superstores, pointed last week to the planned move of The Gap to the west side of Austin Street where they are quadrupling their space to a total of 22,000-square-feet. The expanded Gap, scheduled to open in November, will be a new millennium concept store containing The Gap, BabyGap and GapKids. Banana Republic and Old Navy are other divisions of Gap, Inc. Another new development is the 6,6000-square-foot Eddie Bauer sportswear outlet at 70-00 Austin Street. It has a tentative opening date of October 19 and will provide 5,300 square feet of display and selling area. The demographics were described as a "good fit" by Cozette Phifer, spokeswoman for the Seattle-based chain. "The people there are older-35 to 45-they are more affluent, better-educated and willing to pay more for high-quality products," Phifer said. Elias engineered a number of key deals that changed the face of Forest Hills including the Disney Store. Until a decade ago, Woolworth's had been the only chain on Austin Street. Then stores catering to the young families in the area, like Banana Repuplic and Lechter's, arrived. The economy of the area brightened considerably when the 20,000 square foot Barnes & Noble opened. The Disney opening came about when Elias persuaded them to open a 6,800 square foot store with 30 to 35 employees, or in Disneyspeak, "cast members." Elias told The Queens Courier, "the future of Forest Hills business climate is greater and greater."
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