Marx Realty finalizes 40,000 s/f lease with SUNY WCC

Yonkers, NY Marx Realty, an owner, developer and manager of office, retail and multifamily property across the U.S., has finalized a 10-year, 40,000 s/f lease at Cross County Center with SUNY Westchester Community College (SUNY WCC). The college will occupy the third floor of the new Target building and is expanding its footprint at Cross County Center by 30,000 s/f to allow for more extensive classroom operations, including additional degree and certification programs, at the Center.

The 1.15 million s/f Cross County Center is jointly owned by Marx Realty and Benenson Capital Management and was one of the first open-air shopping centers in the U.S.

“Cross County Center has always been so much more than a top shopping destination,” said Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty. “We are committed to a future-focused approach that fills a need in the region for an entertainment and lifestyle destination.”

with offerings that range from dining and entertainment to traditional retail spaces. We are thrilled to see existing tenants such as SUNY Westchester Community College committing to a long-term presence that will ultimately bring added foot traffic to the Center while providing much-needed services to the community.”

This expansion comes a year after Marx Realty revealed Target’s 40-year, 130,000 s/f lease, one of the largest retail leases in the tri-state area in 2020. Target at Cross County will be the retailer’s first location in the city when it opens in late 2022 and, together with the SUNY WCC expansion, is part of a multi-phase plan focused on furthering the center’s ‘town square’ concept, creating safe, healthy, and dynamic spaces for residents and visitors from the Tri-State area and beyond.

“Retailer confidence in Cross County Center is bolstered by our efforts to bring a diverse mix of tenants to the location and provide an environment designed for success well into the future,” said Jim Stifel, chief investment officer of Benenson Capital. “We are committed to giving both tenants and visitors an experience like none other and offering a wide variety of shopping, dining and entertainment options to maintain the high levels of foot traffic we experienced even as the nation was just emerging from the pandemic.”

The outdoor lifestyle center is located at the intersection of Cross County Parkway and I-82, attracting over 14 million visitors annually from the tri-state region. Cross County Center has attracted many of the top names in retail and dining including the first Shake Shack and only Zara location in the county.

Cross County Center has seen a flurry of new and expanded leases in the last year. Topping the list of tenants is Forever 21 which signed a 29,720-square-foot lease while A?X Armani Exchange signed a 7-year renewal for their 5,025-square-foot space in the center. Additional firms re-committing to Cross County include fashion brands Express and American Eagle, with 8,330-square-foot and 7,340-square-foot renewals respectively; an 810-square-foot lease for Cohen’s Fashion Optical; a 1,832-square-foot lease with Five Guys; and a 375-square-foot lease for local dessert shop favorite Cookies’N’Cream. H&M also signed a 10-year lease renewal to occupy 28,000 square feet where the retailer has incorporated its urban SOHO concept and is invested $5 million in the location.

“Foot traffic at the center remained robust even as the nation in general, and the retail sector more specifically, were recovering from the pandemic,” said Deitelzweig. “The open-air experience combined with the diverse tenant mix and our vision for the future of this asset have caught the eye of major retailers, eateries and experiential users and we are in negotiations with several well-known brands who are keen on planting a flag at Cross County. We are confident that the evolution of Cross County Center will serve as a benchmark for the future of brick-and-mortar retail.”