YONKERS, N.Y. — Brooks Shopping Center LLC has secured a $135 million loan to go toward the ongoing redevelopment of Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers. The first-mortgage financing carries a 5-year term with a fixed interest rate. The lenders are Prudential and New York Life.
The 1 million-square-foot Cross County Shopping Center opened in 1954 at the intersection of Cross County Parkway and the New York Thruway. As part of the center's $225 million redevelopment, the mall will be converted into an open-air shopping center. The existing Macy's is being expanded by 93,000 square feet, and new retailers are being added, including Bebe, AX Armani Express, H&M, Forever 21, American Eagle and Victoria's Secret Pink. Upon completion , which is slated for the end of 2010, Cross County Shopping Center will total 1.2 million square feet.
“It is a great piece of property and one of the premier retail locations in Westchester County. It is irreplaceable,” says James Stifel, chief investment officer of Benenson Capital Partners and manager of Dollar Land Associates, both stakeholders in Brooks Shopping Center LLC. Other stakeholders in the mall's ownership include Merchants National Properties. Macerich Cos. is managing the redevelopment project.
Estreich & Company, Inc. arranged the financing in the transaction. Goldfarb & Fleece represented Brooks Shopping Centers.
— Coleman Wood