When North American Properties (NAP) acquired Ridge Hill for $220 million last May in a joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate and Taconic Partners, it was with the idea of transforming the 74-acre, more than 1.1 million-square-foot lifestyle center into the tristate area”™s premier mixed-use destination. That includes enhanced public spaces, street design and parking as well as an even greater mix of retail, restaurant, entertainment and office offerings.
It”™s a plan that proved a no-brainer for JLL Capital Markets, which not only advised on the sale but arranged financing for it in the form of a $181.3 non-recourse acquisition loan.
“Ridge Hill is one of the more compelling investment opportunities that I have transacted on in my career,” David Monahan, senior managing director of capital markets at JLL in Trenton, New Jersey, said at the time of the sale of the 12-year-old lifestyle center. The numbers spoke for themselves ”“ 72% occupancy and 7.1 million visitors annually, putting it in the top 1% of the most trafficked centers not only in New York but in the entire United States. (Last year, Ridge Hill welcomed 7.3 million visitors, as compared with 8 million in 2019, the year before the pandemic hit the nation.)
No doubt just as enticing to JLL, a professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, was Ridge Hill”™s “irreplaceable” location 20 minutes from New York City off the Sprain Brook Parkway, “a”¯top-tier trade area that includes 681,744 residents within a 15-minute drive who earn an average annual household income of $109,333.”
Now Ridge Hill is looking to tap even more into that area with a comprehensive rebrand to set the tone and agenda going forward, said Sara Hemmer, NAP”™s director of marketing.
“Our goal is to build a sense of community,” she added of the strategy, unveiled at a Jan. 19 event.
The “new verbal and visual assets” offer catchphrases like “Meet us on The Hill” and “Follow The Hill on The Gram” and a refreshed “RH” logo, whose curving “R” puts the hill in Ridge Hill, all on a new website, in peachy-pink, teal and earth tones, that allows you to navigate among 66 retail, restaurant, entertainment and office spaces easily. They range from the big name (Apple, Lowe”™s, Whole Foods) to the boutique (Les Coeurs Sauvages, a new pop-up that bills itself as fashion with a conscience), offering everything from indoor-rock climbing (Hapik) and soaring (iFly); to moviegoing (the 12-screen Showcase Cinema de Lux); medical and dental visits (WestMed, WestDental, Yonkers Oral Surgery PLLC); coworking (Regus); and test-taking (Pearson Vue).
Another way in which Ridge Hill is seeking to build community is its Town Green near The Cheesecake Factory. Said Hemmer: “It”™s a great space that we”™re using for weekly fitness events, children”™s programming, live music programs and comedy shows.” That would be a smart strategy as outdoor-focused lifestyle centers have proved more appealing to shoppers and renters than traditional malls, which have struggled with the double whammy of online purchasing and Covid. (According to JLL, in 2021”™s second quarter, outdoor lifestyle centers drew 46% higher rents than regional malls and 11.5% higher rents than super-regional malls, or malls with more than 800,000 square feet.)
In addition to the regular calendar of events at Ridge Hill, there are seasonal celebrations, Hemmer said, like Galentine”™s Day (Feb. 13), the pre-Valentine”™s Day tribute to female friendships. From 6 to 8 p.m. that day, Texas de Brazil will be serving women $5 Caipirinha cocktails, while The Cup will offer women 25% off on its bar and virtual sports experiences. On March 17 from 6 to 8 p.m., “Luck of The Hill” will present Ridge Hill”™s take on St. Patrick”™s Day.
Part of the emphasis on the Town Green is to see if this is ultimately the best space for activities, Hemmer added, or if there is another or several others that would serve the site better. That is a question that will ultimately be answered during Ridge Hill”™s redevelopment. While it would be premature to discuss specifics, she said, there will be a number of new and expanded offerings.
Casa Fuego, an upscale Latin restaurant by John Racanelli launches this summer across from his Public Pizza, said Jesse Scarpelli, Ridge Hill”™s director of marketing. The Cup will be expanding its services with a restaurant by the end of the year. Ridge Hill is also shining a spotlight on the Yonkers Comedy Club, which has had a soft reopening and recent sold-out shows.
It appears that things are looking up on “The Hill.”
For more, visit ridgehill.com.
What they really need to do is keep the elevators operational for the parking lot next to the medical facility. they take care of maternity and pediatric so imagine being pregnant or having a baby, parking on the 4th floor just to find out BOTH elevators are out of order and you now have to go down 4 flights of stairs carrying a child one way or another. It has happened often enough unfortunately.
Ridge Hill has lot of potential. Needs more restaurants and a flagship store (to replace Lord and Taylor)to attract more customers. Would love to see more music music events.
One problem is that customers are unhappy with new parking. Actually not bad once you understand it.