Ridge Hill ready for Phase One redevelopment; more to come

Ridge Hill in Yonkers is getting ready to break ground in early 2024 on Phase One of a redevelopment plan to expand public spaces, revise vehicular and pedestrian flows and enhance the center located just off Tuckahoe Road as a place for more than shopping.

The Business Journal’s Georgette Gouveia reported in January of this year that when North American Properties acquired Ridge Hill for $220 million in May 2022 in a joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate and Taconic Partners, it was with the idea of transforming the 74-acre lifestyle center into the metro area’s premier mixed-use destination. Ridge Hill currently includes 1.2 million square feet of space. In addition to rebranding and making changes to the physical plant, Ridge Hill planned to build on annual attendance that had ticked up to 7.3 million last year compared with 7.1 million in 2019 before the Covid pandemic hit.

“Being able to create a space where people want to be and spent their time is really an important factor in driving traffic and creating an experience that we want to have here at the property,” Ridge Hill General Manager Meghann Hongach told the Business Journal on Dec. 11. “It gives us the ability to create more gathering spaces, to be able to host more events. We’d like to get to the point where we’re hosting over 100 events per year, whether that’s music events and movie events and fitness events.”

Hongach said that Ridge Hill wants to be seen as more than just a place to shop or visit a health care provider at one of the medical offices that are located at the site.

“We have a really good mix of restaurants and entertainment mixed in with traditional retail and services,” Hongach said. “It’s more like creating almost a new downtown where people will want to spend their time.”

The Yonkers Planning Board gave its approval to site plans for the Phase One redevelopment earlier this year and the process of obtaining all necessary permits for work to begin was being completed as the New Year approached. Even before ground is broken on Phase One, internal discussions were underway on what would be included in the second phase of the redevelopment. Residential elements and a hotel reportedly were among the possibilities being considered.

Ridge Hill identified areas slated to receive facelifts in Phase One as including Town Square and Fountain Plaza. Town Square is a 15,000-square-foot plaza fronting Market Street at the heart of Ridge Hill.

A redesigned Park Plaza would be a 17,000-square-foot space designated as a family-friendly activity zone. Park Plaza will feature greenery, soft seating and café tables. Architectural modifications to the exterior facades of the surrounding buildings are also on tap.

Town Square would feature the transformation of Second Street, the road parallel to Market Street, into a zone for pedestrians, which would be free of cars between two other roads, Archer Avenue and Cole Street. The Town Square space would be expanded into the former roadway, adding approximately 10,000 square feet to accommodate larger events. A covered performance area, soft seating, potted plants, and fire pits will be added. Two small retail buildings would be replaced with two new buildings of the same size.

Cinema Square, which is situated near Legoland Discovery Center and TJ Maxx, also would receive upgrades.

Ridge Hill had told the Planning Board that directory signage would be enhanced with new signs added at five locations and existing ones upgraded. Pedestrian crosswalks at various locations would be upgraded with bump-outs to reduce the crossing distance and encourage drivers to exercise caution.

Ridge Hill has estimated that the cost of Phase One redevelopment will be around $30 million.

“You’ve been seeing for years the changing face of retail and what’s bringing people out these days,” Hongach said. “The first phase is focused on public areas and focusing on enhancing what’s here right now, but further on down the road we do see Ridge Hill getting more into the mixed-use realm as well.”

Hongach said that certain brands were able to pick back up and grow coming out of the pandemic while other brands didn’t do as well.

“I think it’s really a matter of how each business is looking at their future, how they’re looking to build and what’s going to bring their customers back,” Hongach said. “What we’re doing is redevelopment and upgrading public spaces and enhancing the offerings and experience that we’re giving our guests. Ultimately, we’re doing this for the community but also to bring the retailers and the visitors here. The retailers and the restaurants and all the businesses out there, all of the tenants we’re looking to bring in, are interested in what we’re doing and play a big role in how we’re shaping these changes.”

Hongach said that when construction actually begins care will be taken not to interfere with the visitor experience.

“We don’t anticipate any major disruptions,” Hongach said. “We will have some signs up and some construction banners in various locations but we don’t anticipate it will cause any disruption to travel and the customer experience.”