The best and brightest mixed-use centre in New York’s affluent Westchester County is about to get much, much brighter, according to its new owner North American Properties.
Ridge Hill, which poises high-impact restaurants and retailers like Cheesecake Factory and Whole Foods alongside offices and luxury apartments on a scenic hilltop in Yonkers, was sold by Australian developer QIC to NAP, Nuveen Real Estate, and Taconic Partners last year. The company known for trend-setting developments and redevelopments such as Avalon and Atlantic Station in Atlanta wasted no time fashioning a new identity for the property.
“This is a region with a high barrier to entry. It’s nearly impossible to find a piece of land that big in Westchester County,” said NAP managing partner Tim Perry of the 84-acre property that QIC bought from the city of Yonkers.
One of the imperatives facing Perry and his team is the creation of new traffic flows to the centre, which sits between the busy New York Thruway and Sprain Brook Parkway. Cars climbing a steep hill to enter the centre off the Sprain are first greeted by Lowe’s and Whole Foods and may not be drawn into the downtown-like streets of Ridge Hill.
“The whole rest of the centre can’t depend on an anchor like Whole Foods. You can’t just build it and they will come,” Perry said. “What we need to do is stack experiences. Toddler events at 10am. At noon, stop in for lunch at one of our casual dining spots. Bring the kids to an event on Friday evening and stay and have some dinner or wine.”
