Two years after purchasing Ridge Hill, North American Properties (NAP) and Nuveen Real Estate have unleashed the construction crews that will begin remaking the 74-acre lifestyle centre in Yonkers, New York into a more “human-centric” destination.
NAP will demolish part of what was a Lord & Taylor store in its urbanistic downtown, reconfiguring it at ground level to make it part of the central greenspace that currently exists next to a Cheesecake Factory across the street.
An open-air paseo is planned for the first floor of the building that will be filled with retail, dining and entertainment tenants. A fountain at the end of the block will be removed and substituted with a gathering space for visitors.
“It’s so good for me to see a company like North American Properties, which has had so much success in the changing retail market, take on this project,” said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano at an 11 April groundbreaking ceremony. “Nine million people a year go to Yonkers Raceway and the stores in the mall next to it are some of the top-producing stores in the country,” Spano said. “Whatever is built in this corridor scores.”
Also in the plans for the central greenspace are a covered performance stage and an 18’ x 11’ LED screen. The entire Phase 1 renovation will include a reimagining of the streetscape, a modernisation of the merchandising mix and the elevation of the guest experience with resort-inspired services and community-driven programming.
