Target signs 40-year lease at former Sears site in Cross County Center

Retail giant Target has signed a lease for more than 130,000 square feet of space in what used to be the Sears store at the Cross County Center in Yonkers.

The announcement was made Sept. 12 by Marx Realty and Benenson Capital Partners, which own the shopping center. Marx Realty began handling leasing and management at Cross County Center in-house several months ago.

While revealing the 40-year Target lease, the announcement also said that H&M, an existing tenant at the shopping center, had signed a 10-year lease renewal for 28,000 square feet.

The Yonkers Planning Board was due to begin reviewing plans on OCt. 14 to make modifications to the Cross County Center”™s existing approved site plan so that Target can be accommodated at the four-story building that housed Sears until the store”™s closing last year. In addition to looking at the proposed site plan modifications, the board will act as lead agency in reviewing any environmental aspects of the project.

Even before the planning board review, the city was already putting out the welcome mat for Target. Mayor Mike Spano said, “Yonkers has hit the mark with Target”™s plan for a new store at Cross County Center, their first ever in Yonkers. Target”™s decision to invest in our city is a testament to the retailer”™s confidence in our thriving economy and our business-friendly environment. We are excited to get Yonkers back to business.”

Target currently has 1,880 stores in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It has approximately 350,000 employees and in 2018 reported $75.4 billion in revenue. It is headquartered in Minneapolis.

In August, when reporting second quarter 2020 financials, the company said the revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% over the same period in 2019, at $23 billion. Operating income for the quarter was $2.3 billion, up 73.8% from the $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2019, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. It said digital sales had grown 195% during the period.

When those results were released, Brian Cornell, chairman and chief executive officer of Target Corp., said, “We remain steadfast in our focus on investing in a safe and convenient shopping experience for our guests, and their trust has resulted in market share gains of $5 billion in the first six months of the year. We are well-equipped to navigate the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and continue to grow profitably in the years ahead.”

Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty, said in a statement, “Residents of Westchester County and the surrounding towns are over the moon to have Target coming to their backyard. As the retail sector emerges from the Covid-19 crisis, we have seen extraordinary foot traffic at the center showing pent-up demand to experience the diverse retail, dining and entertainment offerings.”

“Given how well retailers perform at Cross County Center, we expect this Target store to be among its most successful locations,” said Jim Stifel, chief investment officer of Benenson Capital Partners. Stifel also said that he expects there will be announcements of other tenant activity at Cross County in the coming months.

Cross County Center was built in 1954 on a 72-acre site and was the first outdoor shopping center in the U.S. It currently features more than 80 specialty stores and restaurants such as Macy”™s, Zara, Pandora, Starbucks and Shake Shack and also has a Hyatt Place Hotel. The shopping center draws about 11 million visitors each year.