LT Eastchester LLC, an entity of Saks Global, which owns Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue is seeking approvals and permits from the Town of Eastchester related to modifications at the former Lord & Taylor property at 750 White Plains Road in order to accommodate new tenants. The former department store includes about 215,000 square feet of space. Saks OFF 5TH, which sells designer goods at discounts, occupies about 37,000 square feet. White Plains Hospital is close to completing the buildout of 75,000 square feet of medical office space, and may begin opening in early July.
LT Eastchester has five new tenants lined up who will occupy a total of 56,000 square feet of space. Attorney Bob Davis of the Mount Kisco-based law firm Singleton, Davis & Singleton PLLC, told the Eastchester Planning Board, “Two of the five new tenants will be nationally-known retailers: William Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids,” Davis said. “Their uses are permitted as-of-right at the site. Two of the other three new tenants are well-known national chains which fall under the formula fast-casual/quick-casual restaurant use category in the zoning code.” The restaurants will require special permits.
Davis sad that one of the restaurants, CAVA, has 17 locations in New York state, including one in Rye Ridge Plaza, and one to open soon in the Cross County Center in Yonkers. He described it as a popular fast casual establishment, known for its Mediterranean inspired bowls, pitas, dips and dressings, with a fully customizable menu and a focus on hospitality and community.
“The second restaurant, with a similar focus, is Tatte Bakery and Café, which has 27 locations in Massachusetts and others in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland,” Davis said. “Tatte is in the process of opening new locations in our Tri-State area including one recently in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Tatte features breakfast, lunch and brunch items and its famous pastries. Neither restaurant will serve alcoholic beverages and neither is proposing outdoor dining.”
In addition to the two restaurants, approval is being sought now for a third new tenant, the Equinox Scarsdale Club, a health and fitness facility that has operated for many years at 800 White Plains Road. It will be closing that location and making the move to 750 White Plains Road.
Davis noted that the entire site covers approximately 11.03 acres and that there are approximately 650 parking spaces surrounding the building. He said that once all five of the new tenants have moved in, the only remaining vacant spaces will be on the third floor and in a ground-level garage that currently is not in use.
Jerry Bermingham, a senior vice president of Saks Global, said, “Saks Global is the new name of the Lord & Taylor entity that owned the real estate that was part of Saks Fifth Avenue, which then in December purchased Neiman Marcus. With Bergdorf Goodman it is now consolidated under the same private ownership and is renamed Saks Global.”
Bermingham said that they expect that White Plains Hospital may take vacant space on the third floor of the former Lord & Taylor building to use used for administrative purposes. He said the property owner plans to build an elevator tower that will allow people to enter on the east side of the building and go directly up to the third floor.
“Our difficulty with leasing the entirety of a complex that used to be a department store is that … it all operates fine for a single tenant. For multiple tenants it has to revert to some of the tings it used to be 20 years ago. It will be multiple stores along the southern front.”
He said that the space for the health club will be a duplex with the entrance on the east side of the building and Equinox clients would be using the east side parking lot.
“Equinox clients will not be coming in off the parking lot that faces White Plains Road. They’ll all be coming in from the other side,” Bermingham said. “We’re happy with having the progress we’ve had; never quick enough. But, we’ve kept this all within the envelope of the existing building without having to create a situation … to change things up and create what might be considered other problems.”
The Planning Board was expected to take up the matter again at its scheduled June 26 meeting.
