New Roc Associates, LP leases 160,000 s/f to Target at complex

In what is the first and most significant step toward the transformation of New Roc City into a major retail hub, New Roc Associates, LP, which is a partnership between Entertainment Properties Trust and Cappelli Enterprises, has announced that Target is opening a 160,000 s/f department store in the entertainment complex. The new store, which will be Target's fourth store in Westchester County, has an anticipated opening of October 2010. New Roc Associates is undertaking a $50 million reconfiguration of the existing four-level complex that will feature Target and another national retail department store as anchor tenants. New Roc Associates will construct two new floor levels in the space now occupied by the ice rink. The entrance to the new Target store will be on the second level with access from the parking garage. "We are very pleased to announce that Target, one of the nation's most successful retailers, will be opening in New Roc City in the fall of 2010. The tremendous success we have enjoyed with New Roc, combined with the occupancy of hundreds of new downtown housing units including our own Trump Plaza project, has created an environment that is of interest to major retailers such as Target. They are now seeking to come to downtown New Rochelle, and New Roc City offers the venue, the location and the floor space that they need. This is all very good news for the city," said Louis Cappelli, president of Cappelli Enterprises who conceived of and developed New Roc City. The conversion of large portions of the nine-year-old entertainment complex into a retail shopping destination will provide a major boost for downtown New Rochelle creating hundreds of construction jobs, about 324 permanent jobs and $9.987 million in sales tax revenues for the city, county and state. "We are delighted to welcome Target to New Rochelle. Target's decision to open in our central business district reflects the growing economic vitality of our downtown, and the enthusiasm among entrepreneurs and investors for the exceptional business opportunities in our city. Target's arrival will surely spark an even broader retail resurgence, making a wider range of quality goods and services available to countless residents of our region," said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson.