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Cross County Shopping Center

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Coordinates: 40°55′38″N 73°51′17″W / 40.927286°N 73.854711°W / 40.927286; -73.854711
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Cross County Center
Cross County Shopping Center Macerich
Map
LocationYonkers, New York, United States
Coordinates40°55′38″N 73°51′17″W / 40.927286°N 73.854711°W / 40.927286; -73.854711
Opening date1954
ManagementMarx Realty
OwnerBrooks Shopping Center LLC
No. of stores and services100+
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor area1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2)
Websitecrosscountycenter.com

Cross County Center is an open-air shopping mall located at the junction of the NYS Thruway and Cross County Parkway, in the Kimball neighborhood of Yonkers, New York, United States. The mall is managed by Marx Realty and hosts over 100 stores and restaurants.[1] Anchor stores are Macy's and Target. The mall features prominent specialty retailers such as Armani Exchange, Zara, Michael Kors, Guess, Invicta Watch, and Steve Madden, in addition to Showcase Cinemas.[2]

History

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Developed by Sol Atlas,[3] Cross County Center opened in 1954 as one of the nation's first open-air shopping destinations. Its parking lot was built atop a former peat bog.[4] The 72-acre site included the Cross County Hospital in the middle of the mall campus complete with a rooftop helipad (the hospital closed in the early 1980s).[5] The original anchor stores were Gimbels (later Stern's, now Macy's), John Wanamaker (later Sears, now Target), and F. W. Woolworth Company. Woolworth operated a main store and a garden store in the mall (the former is now mall space, while the latter was converted to Odd-Job Trading before becoming Old Navy).[6] The 1981 CBS TV movie Bill starring Mickey Rooney had the scene with Santa Claus filmed here.[citation needed]

Starting in 2007, Cross County Center underwent a new development and upgrade overseen by The Macerich Company on behalf of the mall's owners, which was completed in 2012.[7] The huge building that now houses Macy's Department Store (that was initially Gimbel's and then Stern's) has been enlarged by one third. It also features a new covered parking lot[8] that is almost as large as the store; the underground loading complex has also been enlarged.[citation needed] The buildings housing the stores on Mall Walk have been renovated and look different, externally, than they did previously, and the catwalk around some second floor stores has been permanently removed. All of the smaller stores, such a those that housed cookie shops and lingerie stores, have been demolished. Nearby buildings have been extended, and one parking lot[which?] now faces several large stores.[which?][citation needed]

The former Cross County Hospital and Office building was reconstructed for a Hyatt Place hotel, with 155 rooms, an indoor pool, cocktails bar, business center and fitness center in 2015.[9]

In 2010, Red Lobster opened, and in 2015, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse restaurants opened. On the north side of the mall, Wilsker's restaurant was located, and it was a diner.

On June 6, 2019, it was announced that Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.[10] Target signed a 40-year lease for 132,000 sq. ft. of space in the previous Sears outpost.[11] On September 13, 2023, Target announced that they will open their first store on October 22 on the location of the former Sears store.[12] The store had its ribbon cut on October 18, and opened 4 days later.[13][14]

The mall has long been owned by Brooks Shopping Center LLC, jointly owned by Marx Realty and Benenson Capital Partners, and was managed by Macerich since 2006. On January 17, 2020, Westfair Communications reported that Marx Realty took over the mall's leasing and management from Macerich.[15]

In late 2021, it was announced that Westchester Community College would expand their current Yonkers campus by opening up a concept at Cross County on the third floor of the previous Sears outpost.[16] WCC will add 30,000 square feet of space, using it to build new lab spaces, and new design school, and expand their current academic offerings at the campus.[17] The WCC expansion opened in November 2022.[18]

Name

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"Cross County Center" is the official name of the shopping center.

The Mall at Cross County

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Adjacent to Cross County Center, at 750 Central Park Avenue,[19][20][21] is a shopping center called The Mall at Cross County,[22] which hosts a variety of stores and a large covered parking garage. Current tenants include Michaels, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, and Micro Center.

The mall first opened in 1987 as Cross County Square and had different stores than today, such as Thriftway Drug, Finders Keepers, Crazy Eddie, plus various specialty stores and restaurants.

Before 2009, the mall also hosted a Circuit City on the second floor. In 2010, Micro Center opened where the Circuit City was.

Prior to 2017, the mall hosted a variety of stores and restaurants such as National Wholesale Liquidators, LensCrafters, Powerhouse Gym, GNC, Payless ShoeSource, Nail Pro, Pizza In The Square, Subway, Pretzel Time, and TCBY on the first floor, and Sports Authority, Kid City, Ideal Jewelers, and Sleepy's on the second floor. Before 2004, the mall also hosted a Kids "R" Us, which was the children's clothing chain owned by the Toys "R" Us brand.[23]

In 2017, it was announced that, as part of a $10,000,000 renovation to the mall, Century 21 would open a store which covered up the whole interior part of the mall, closing all of the previous tenants mentioned above.[24] On September 10, 2020, it was announced that Century 21 would be closing all of its stores, including the Mall at Cross County location.[25] In November 2022, Burlington opened a store in the space formerly occupied by Century 21.[26]

The National Wholesale Liquidators location, which was housed in a separate structure attached to the rest of the mall, closed in 2017 after a construction accident occurred when a front-loader fell through the unused portion of the roof parking deck on top of the store.[27] The building was subsequently condemned and demolished, with plans to rebuild a new store.[27] However, no timeline was disclosed for the construction of the new store, and as of 2021, the lot is still empty and construction has not begun.

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  • The iconic former marquee of the Cross County Center with Macy's in the background
    The iconic former marquee of the Cross County Center with Macy's in the background
  • New entrance sign
    New entrance sign
  • The new mall
    The new mall
  • The trading rock
    The trading rock
  • Marquee at The Mall at Cross County
    Marquee at The Mall at Cross County
  • The mall walk before the start of the reconstruction project
    The mall walk before the start of the reconstruction project

References

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  1. ^ "Malls/Shopping Centers". Tourism.WestchesterGov.com/Shopping. Archived from the original on 2005-12-24.
  2. ^ Pollack, Liz (July 12, 2014). "Cross County Shopping Center Celebrates 60th Anniversary". WESTCHESTER Magazine.
  3. ^ "Sol Atlas Dies; Build was 66". The New York Times. July 31, 1973.
  4. ^ "Westchester's Cross County Shopping Center Gets a Makeover". The New York Times. May 16, 2012.
  5. ^ Nachman, Barbara (2005-10-30). "Shopping: More than ever, Westchester is a shopper's paradise". The Journal News. Gannett Company, Inc. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2006-12-05.
  6. ^ Brenner, Elsa (October 31, 1993). "Choosing Sides In the Way We Shop". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Cross County Shopping Center Renovation and Expansion". John Meyer Consulting. Archived from the original on 2006-03-11. Retrieved 2006-02-25.
  8. ^ "Visitor Information". Cross County Center. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  9. ^ "Cross County Shopping Center Announces Hotel Development". CrossCountyCenter.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  10. ^ Matsuda, Akiko. "Sears in Yonkers closing in late July, the latest in the retailer's sinking saga". The Journal News.
  11. ^ Clark, Heather. "Target signs lease for first ever Yonkers location". The Journal News.
  12. ^ "Target sets opening date for new store in Yonkers". The Journal News. September 13, 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Highly anticipated Target store set to open in Yonkers this Sunday". News 12 - Long Island.
  14. ^ Katz, Peter (October 23, 2023). "Target opening produces upbeat feelings about brick and mortar retailing".
  15. ^ "Marx takes over Cross County leasing, working on filling former Sears store". 17 January 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  16. ^ Katz, Peter (2021-09-13). "WCC approved to move into former Sears store at Cross County Center". Westfair Communications. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  17. ^ "Community College Leases 40K SF at Ex-Sears in Yonkers". The Real Deal Tri-State. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  18. ^ "SUNY WCC Opens Expanded Yonkers Location In Cross County Center". New Rochelle, NY Patch. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  19. ^ "Cross County Shopping Center". YellowPages. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Westchester County Shopping Malls". WestchesterNY.org.
  21. ^ "The Mall At Cross County". Google+.
  22. ^ "Mall at Cross County". Mapquest. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  23. ^ Brown, Betsy (1987-08-02). "35-STORE SHOPPING MALL IS MAJOR RETAIL ADDITION FOR YONKERS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  24. ^ Eberhart, Michael P. McKinney, and Christopher J. "Mall at Cross County was starting $10M renovation; Century 21 coming". The Journal News. Retrieved 2021-08-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Thomas, Lauren (2020-09-10). "Discount retailer Century 21 files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is closing all of its 13 stores". CNBC.
  26. ^ "Burlington opens new store in Yonkers". News 12 - Westchester. November 4, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  27. ^ a b Garcia, Ernie. "Condemned Yonkers rat refuge begins demolition". The Journal News. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
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