New hope for Rockaway mall?

From the Daily News:

A new lease for a supermarket and a renovation project are renewing hope that the deteriorated Far Rockaway Shopping Center can make a comeback.

The operators of the Associated supermarket have worked out a deal with property owner Rita Stark to stay at the location for another 15 years and give the store a much-needed facelift.

George Arzt, a spokesman for Stark, said he expects the revamped food market to serve as an anchor that will attract other retailers to the shopping center, which has sat mostly vacant for years.

"We're in discussions with about half-a-dozen other potential tenants," Arzt said. "We're talking to drug stores, fitness centers and local restaurants. What we are doing now is trying to get an appropriate mix for this particular center."

Stark and her consultants spent years unsuccessfully trying to lure a big box store to the site, Arzt said.

Local officials are cautiously optimistic. Stark has a vast portfolio of property in Queens and is known for her mercurial temperament. She has often resisted development, allowing decades-old buildings to sit vacant even in resurgent areas such as Jamaica.