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ELMSFORD, N.Y. The vacant Syms Clothing store on Tarrytown Road in Elmsford will soon be home to one of the biggest Sports Authority stores the chain has to offer.
Sports Authority, a sporting goods retailer with more than 400 stores throughout the country, will take over the space once filled by Syms Clothing and Filene's Basement. The building at 395 Tarrytown Road across from the Greenburgh Public Library has been vacant for almost nine months.
Mayor Robert Williams said that the location wasn't a difficult decision for Sports Authority representatives, considering many stores along that road have such successful businesses the Burger King adjacent to the store boasts to be the busiest among its chain in the world, he said.
"It's the hub of the county. All major roads go through here so it's the perfect location easy on, easy off," he said. "All these busy superstores nearby were a good draw."
Syms Clothing and Filene's Basement filed for bankruptcy last November, forcing it to close all 25 of its stores in January.
Sports Authority marketing manager Kent Miller said construction will begin on the store in spring 2013, with a grand opening set for late summer 2013. An average Sports Authority typically employs about 35 workers, but this store, at about 58,000 square feet, is almost double the size of an average in its chain, Miller said.
It's too soon to tell how many workers will be employed, Miller added, but for Williams, the business will be a great opportunity to provide out-of-work Elmsford residents with jobs.
"Knowing the size of their stores, it will be a great job opportunity for everyone in the village," he said.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner agreed, saying the new store is another step in improving the town's job market.
"It's good for our town; more jobs for people out of work," Feiner wrote in an email. "Another sign that the economy is starting to turn around in a positive direction."
Lon Novatt, Sports Authority's senior vice president of real estate, did not return phone calls for comment.
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