The idea that people would be able to shop from their living rooms or kitchens using a device known as a computer via a data highway called the internet wasn’t even a fantasy back in 1954 when developer Sol Atlas opened the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers. The original anchor stores were Gimbels, John Wanamaker and F.W. Woolworth.
Now, some 70 years later, when people actually do shop using not only computers and the internet but their smartphones as well, the Cross County Center still is thriving with 97% of its space leased. The Center had an anniversary celebration for the public on May 18.
“What we’ve seen recently is that more and more of these internet type of retailers now want brick and mortar to support their brand,” Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty, told the Business Journal. Marx, along with Benenson Capital Partners owns and operates the Cross County Center.
“We think we’ll see more and more of that and we also think that retailers understand they’re in the entertainment business to a certain extent,” he said. “More and more of their stores are being renovated in a way that makes it much more appealing for people to stay there longer.”
Deitelzweig said that the relationship they have built with the City of Yonkers has helped position the Cross County Center as an integral part of the community and also an important element in the city’s economic life.
“We are just so fortunate. The City of Yonkers, the mayor, the city council, have been truly wonderful to work with. They come to the Center, they appreciate the Center, they appreciate growth and the need for the Center to change and become better and better over the years,” Deitelzweig said.
He said that in the next few months the center will be submitting plans to the city to add to the retail space available within its current footprint.
“We will be bringing to the city plans for more retail at the Center and more green space,” Deitelzweig said. “It was approved as part of a master plan and we think now is the time to introduce that just because we are so leased and we want to make sure that we’re future-proofed and all the retailers who want to come into the center and that we want to bring into the Center we have space for.”
Deitelzweig said that there are some additional national “marquee” brands that want a presence at Cross County Center and other smaller or local retailers that they believe would be a good fit. He also said that the Center wants to expand the food service offerings and shopping, dining and entertainment will be the mix at Cross County Center for the foreseeable future.
When asked to describe the key elements that have enabled Cross County Center to have done so well over the years while some other indoor and outdoor shopping centers have failed, Deitelzweig said that the Center’s easily-accessible location has been important. Cross County Center is in the Kimball neighborhood of Yonkers at the intersection of the Cross County Parkway and the New York State Thruway.
“The magic really is in the community-building and how we’ve made sure the Center is always part of the community,” Deitelzweig said. “What we do to make sure is that we have a lot of community events. We also select the right retailers, the right mix to make sure that it really is exciting for all different types of customers. We reject possible tenants all the time. We’re super-selective. We want to make sure that we have tenants that appeal to children, teenagers, all different people. It’s really that mix that builds on itself.”
Deitelzweig said that with Express filing for bankruptcy and announcing store closings its space will be back on the market.
“We got probably 12 different inbound calls from tenants who are interested in that space and I think because we are 97% leased we have the opportunity to really be selective about who those retailers are and we’ve narrowed it down to two or three that we think will be a real plus for the Center,” Deitelzweig said. “Sometimes we will select a tenant who will pay less rent if we think they’re right for the Center. Often when it is less rent we’ll obtain percentage rent because we believe so much in the Center and the success of all the retailers so it sort of evens out. Almost all of our retailers are in the top five of their chain in the country.”
Deitelzweig said that Target, which is in the building formerly occupied by Sears, is expected to be among the top three performing Target stores in the U.S.
“We had to make it economically viable for both of us and then the infrastructure had to change and then we introduced a new plaza connecting the Target building to the rest of the Center and that was really helpful in making it part of the community,” Deitelzweig said. “People really like to go as close as they can to the store that they’re going to. Being able to just easily go into the center and find a spot and not have to pay for it is very, very helpful. It’s incredibly exciting how the Center has evolved over these 70 years.”
