Bay Ridge Plaza Facing Key Vacancies

The large yellow banner heralding the closure of the Blockbuster store in Bay Ridge Plaza is an obvious sign that change is coming to the popular Hillsmere shopping center.

However, the video store's sizable vacancy isn't the only anchor tenant the busy strip mall is losing. The CVS pharmacy is also set to leave the center.

Blockbuster has been renting movies there since 1990 and on Sept. 19 it will become the latest in a string of video store closures around the area and the country, a sign of the times of On Demand movies, movies by mail, $1-a-day rental kiosks and streaming videos online.

CVS will hang around a while longer before it moves a few blocks down Bay Ridge Road when a new stand-alone location is built on the site of the Mexican Café. Maya Spence, CVS store supervisor, said the move date has not been confirmed, but at this point it is not expected until the first quarter of 2012.

Bob Pollokoff, president of Fedder Management Corp., said he can't market the CVS site until they know when it will be available.

While it's too soon to line up a replacement for CVS, Pollokoff said his firm has anticipated Blockbuster's departure. The Owings Mills-based company that manages and handles the leasing for the plaza is already working with a new client to fill the void, he said.

Though he declined to discuss specifics, or reveal what businesses may be interested in the spot, he said one of the possibilities is a tenant taking over a portion of the 6,750 square feet of the Blockbuster site.

"We have confidence in the location," Pollokoff said. "It's a strong retail location not only for the residents in the community, but those going to the park or the boaters who patronize West Marine."

Several shoppers on a recent afternoon said they weren't too concerned with the pending changes. For one, CVS is moving close by and will most likely be bigger and better, they said. And, many said they rarely went into Blockbuster anyway.

"CVS is going down the street, so what's the difference?" said Bob McGraw, who had just finished working out in nearby Quiet Waters Park.

Other shoppers said they frequently grab a bite to eat at Grump's or stop in Bay Ridge Wine and Spirits or West Marine.

Though Blockbuster's closing is still a few weeks away, it already appears pretty picked over. The shelves and walls that once were lined with comedies, dramas and thrillers are now all but bare.

Signs declaring "Everything must go," and "10 to 30 percent off everything" have replaced posters of the latest releases. Inside, handwritten signs remind shoppers they mean everything — even the store fixtures are for sale.

It is a process that has become familiar. The Blockbuster in the Festival at Riva went through a similar process before it closed in July 2009. Hollywood Video on Forest Drive has also closed.

The closing of the Bay Ridge Plaza Blockbuster comes amid reports the Dallas-based company may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. According to information from Blockbuster, the closing, and many others across the country, are part of its "various recapitalization opportunities" to help overcome significant debt.