Target opens at Cross County in Yonkers

Target has opened at the Cross County Center, in the building formerly occupied by Sears. It is Target’s first store in Yonkers and encompasses approximately 132,000 square feet on two floors. A ribbon-cutting event attended by invited guests and store staff was held the afternoon of October 17 with a “soft” store opening as of 6 p.m. on the evening of the 17th with the formal store opening October 22.

Target operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and the Yonkers store is the 99th in the New York area. Target reports it is employing 290 people at the Yonkers store and nationwide counts approximately 21,145 on the payroll.

The Cross County Center, owned by Marx Realty and Benenson Capital Partners, is at the intersection of the Cross County Parkway and Interstate 87. It has more than 80 stores and restaurants along with a Hyatt Place Hotel in its 1,150,000 square feet. It attracts approximately 11 million visitors a year.

In addition to Target, SUNY Westchester Community College also has space in the former Sears building.

In March of 2021, at a ceremony marking the start of work on the new Target, it was revealed that Target had signed a 40-year lease, reflecting a significant commitment to the shopping center as well as the city.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Rafael Martinez, Target’s store director in Yonkers recalled that when his parents came to the U.S. they decided to settle in Yonkers.

“When I was young and used to behave and have good grades they used to bring me to the mall (Cross County Center) specifically to this building,” Martinez said. “To everybody’s surprise, if you see my report card, I was here quite often. I have great memories in this building and it’s now my responsibility and my team’s responsibility to serve our community, to bring affordable prices and create memorable moments. This is what we do here at Target.”

Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty, told the Business Journal that the opening of Target is a huge moment for Marx.

“It’s really the evolution of Cross County Center. It was really our missing piece,” Deitelzweig said, pointing out that a new promenade has been built to connect Target with the rest of the center. “We believe this will be one of the most successful Target stores in the nation if not the most successful Target store in the nation.”

Deitelzweig said that when Sears closed the center’s management saw an opportunity to reimagine how best to use what had been a very large space that had been occupied by one retailer. He emphasized that the current owners of the center have been in place for 67 years and have worked to make it a part of the community.

“There was no one we wanted more than Target and we heard from the community that they wanted Target,” Deitelzweig said.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano told the Business Journal that he expects Target will add substantially to the economic engine that retailing is in Yonkers.

“They sell things and we collect revenues (taxes),” Spano said. “They employ people and when you employ people they want to live where they work and they of course want to shop where they live and eat where they live. It is a complete wraparound benefit to the residents of our city to have this type of retail.”