Ridge Hill plans $8M partial demolition, redesigning and repurposing of Lord & Taylor store

As part of its project to reimagine Ridge Hill in Yonkers, Ridge Hill Property Owner LLC is asking the city to approve the redevelopment of the former Lord & Taylor department store building. The vacant department store encompasses 88,705 square feet, with 39,165 square feet on the first floor and 49,540 square feet above. The redevelopment parcel covers about 2.4 acres.

Ridge Hill says that the spaces in the building are too large to accommodate typical restaurant and retail shop formats, and the absence of natural light on the interior makes the space generally unsuitable for office use. The estimated cost for this element in the overall plan for Ridge Hill is $8 million.

“Given the current state of the traditional department store segment, re-tenanting with a replacement department store is not a viable option,” Ridge Hill told the Yonkers Planning Board.

The former Lord & Taylor store fronts Market Street, directly across from Ridge Hill’s Town Square Plaza. In May of last year, the Planning Board approved modifications to Town Square Plaza to create a larger central gathering space for visitors to Ridge Hill.

“The proposed reconfiguration and re-use of this building has been designed to create synergy with the enhanced public gathering space,” Ridge Hill says.

Ridge Hill’s plan includes removing a modern-looking architectural feature on the front of the building. A section of the storefront approximately 46 feet wide will be removed, along with the second-floor slab and roof above. This would create an open-air “paseo” with a floor area of approximately 3,290 square feet. A “paseo” typically is defined as an area for leisurely walking or strolling. The paseo will be covered with a membrane roof structure, allowing light to enter the space below while providing a level of protection from rain and snow. Ridge Hill envisions patio dining opportunities for first-floor restaurants with storefronts in the paseo.

The demolition of the rear portion of the building would allow locations for retail, restaurant, entertainment, and office tenants, according to Ridge Hill. The project description says that existing escalators will remain in the enclosed portion of the building behind the paseo, providing access to the second floor. A new interior stairway will be constructed adjacent to the escalators. A new section of elevated sidewalk will be constructed at the front of the paseo opening, connecting the existing elevated walkways to the north and south.

The plans call for new public restrooms and a family lounge area, which will serve guests attending events in the Town Square Plaza. Ridge Hill anticipates adding a “speed hump” on adjacent roads to help ensure that drivers slow down in the area.

Ridge Hill calculates that when the rear portion of the Lord & Taylor building is demolished it will create a pad of approximately one acre for future development of a non-retail use. Ridge Hill says that it has prepared preliminary plans to build a new residential building on the development pad, although it is not submitting plans and asking for approvals of a residential development at the former Lord & Taylor site at this time.