Construction underway on new features for Bay Terrace Shopping Center, including fitness center and restaurants – QNS

The new Club Studio Fitness is expected to open at the end of 2025.

Rendering courtesy of Cord Meyer Development

Construction is well underway for multiple new additions and features at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center. According to Cord Meyer Development, highlights include new restaurants, new store facades and a full-service fitness center.

The fitness center, Club Studio, is already being constructed and expected to be completed as early as the end of 2025. A second floor is being built in order to accommodate the club’s many features and amenities. The upcoming addition of Club Studio comes after community input reflected a desire for a gym at the shopping center, according to Cord Meyer Development Vice President Leasing Matthew O’Grady.

“Cord Meyer Development is thrilled to welcome Club Studio to the Bay Terrace Shopping Center. Their commitment to health and fitness is a wonderful addition to our diverse range of tenants,” O’Grady said. “The addition of Club Studio is key to Cord Meyer’s ongoing efforts to enhance the customer experience by offering a wide variety of services and amenities to our community.”

The restaurants coming there include a Chipotle, a Gen Korean BBQ House and a Just Salad. Cord Meyer Development anticipates each to open late in 2024 or early in 2025.

Other work being done includes creating an area for outdoor seating and dining and a turf area for events to be held and people to gather. The facades at the shopping center will also be updated, with more contemporary signage to be installed. In an effort to make the shopping center more pedestrian friendly, improvements will be made to the walkways and a path across the parking lot will be added.

“I am extremely pleased about the changes proposed for the Bay Terrace Shopping Center,” said Ronnie Dragoon, owner of Ben’s Kosher Deli in the shopping center. “I think it will breathe new life into the shopping center, especially if they create more space for community events. People will come down, walk around and eventually — if we’re lucky — get hungry!”

Fencing is already up at the future location of the fitness center, where demolition work is in progress. There is also fencing up at a stairwell leading to 26th Avenue. This area connects the upper and lower areas of the shopping center. Having been there for a long time, the space was in need of repairs and improvements, noted Cord Meyer Development Vice President and Bay Terrace Project Lead Joe Forgione. One such improvement will be turning the area into an outdoor seating location for Just Salad.

Within the next month, a larger portion of the shopping center will be closed off in order to allow for the creation of a public gathering area that is also meant to be used as future event space. Despite the range of construction expected to take place, all tenants in the shopping center will remain open throughout the process.

“I think it’s wonderful that Cord Meyer is investing in new public areas,” said Maurizio Troia, owner of Rosa Pizza at the shopping center. “The temporary construction will benefit the tenants and community in the long term because it will attract more customers and create outdoor spaces that can be enjoyed by everyone. The shopping center has always been great, but the new changes will take it to the next
level.”

Forgione noted the idea to create these spaces can be traced back to the COVID-19 pandemic. It showed a need and desire among the community for outdoor events, like the Queens Classic Car Club’s car shows. However, due to all the construction that will be taking place this year, Forgione said these shows will be suspended in 2024. He hopes for its return upon the completion of construction.

“In fall 2023, Cord Meyer announced the ‘Moving Forward’ initiative to reimagine and revitalize the Bay Terrace Shopping Center,” Forgione concluded. “It’s a significant investment in the future and we are all excited to see the many changes taking shape.”

To learn more, visit www.cordmeyer.com.