Gap Factory opening new Long Island store this fall in former Rite Aid

Gap Factory will open a new store at the Mayfair Shopping Center in Commack this fall after recently signing a lease, managers of the property said.

The new Gap Factory, a subsidiary of Gap that offers discounted clothing and accessories under the retail giant’s brand, is set to open in October and takes the place of a former Rite Aid, officials with Levin Management Corp., property manager for the center on Jericho Turnpike, said Monday. The retailer has begun renovations of the interior and the exterior of the 12,800-square-foot space.

“Over the past several years, Mayfair Shopping Center has attracted a dynamic, relevant tenant mix that blends fashion, fitness, lifestyle and entertainment — with the goal to align the property’s offerings with the expectations and lifestyles of today’s shoppers,” E.J. Moawad, Levin’s senior leasing representative, said in a statement announcing the lease.

“The Gap Factory lease is a direct result of this evolution and provides a strong endorsement of the property as one of Long Island’s most desirable retail destinations,” Moawad said.

The international retailer is "excited to be opening a Gap Factory store later this year in Commack," Sandy Goldberg, communications representative for The Gap said in email Monday.

Moawad represented the Mayfair Shopping Center, while Michael Friedman of Inline Realty represented The Gap. The new lease almost brings the 222,000-square-foot shopping center to full occupancy, according to North Plainfield, New Jersey-based Levin Management.

Melissa Sievwright, vice president of marketing at Levin Management, said the new tenant marks the return of Gap, which occupied a 10,875-square-foot space at the center until 2019.

“Gap Factory is going to be a little bigger than the previous Gap,” Sievwright said.

The center, which dealt with some vacancies after the pandemic, Sievwright said, has two remaining spots to fill: a 3,480-square-foot space and a 2,430-square-foot space.

“The re-tenanting of that center has been so strong,” she said. “Once we fill those last couple spaces there, it will be fully occupied.”

Other tenants that have announced opening plans for the center include indoor playground chain Kids Empire, which expects to open in the fourth quarter of the year.

A PGA Tour Superstore, an anchor at the center, replaced most of the space vacated in 2021 by a Best Market grocery store.