CROSS COUNTY CENTER
New York State Thruway / Interstate 87 and Cross County Parkway
Yonkers, New York
Developer Sol G. Atlas announced plans for Greater New York City's first shopping mall in July 1950. The open-air center would be built on a 46.5-acre plot, that would eventually be expanded to 71 acres. The site was located 12.5 miles northeast of Times Square, in the Westchester County suburb of Yonkers.
Construction started on CROSS COUNTY CENTER in early 1953. Designed by New York City's Lathrop Douglass, the 30 million dollar complex featured a main retail level, Upper Walk office level and service basement. This was accessed by two service tunnels.
The first phase of the project opened, with thirty-five stores, on April 28, 1954. Attending the grand opening were Sol G. Atlas, Lathrop Douglass, Bruce Gimbel and John Guelfl (of Gimbels), John Wannamaker III, John J. Harrington and Edmund J. Murphy (of First National Stores) and Kristen Kristensen (Mayor of Yonkers). Celebrity appearances were made by Morey Amsterdam, Martha Raye, Henny Youngman, Carl Reiner and Jackie Cooper. Music was provided by the Gorton and Roosevelt High School Bands.
A short list of charter CROSS COUNTY stores would include Walgreen Drug, Wilsker Delicatessen, A.S. Beck Shoes, Westchester Bootery, Layin's Interiors, Wallace-Corning Men's Wear and a freestanding (22,600 square foot) First National Stores supermarket. An 8-story tower housed retail on its first level and offices on levels 2 through 4. The Cross County Medical Center, taking levels 5 through 8, opened on March 29, 1955.
John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, built a 3-level (225,000 square foot) CROSS COUNTY store. It opened, as the center's first anchor, on April 28, 1955. Gimbels-New York's 3-level (200,000 square foot) unit welcomed first shoppers on September 8th.
By December 1957, CROSS COUNTY CENTER was fully-leased, with a total of eighty stores and services. The complex incorporated approximately 906,200 leasable square feet of retail, office and hospital space. Three store blocks had just been added to the mall's southwest corner. New stores included Lofts Candy, Wing & Fin Pets and Simple Simon Hardware. In the original section of the mall, a 1-level (24,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 had opened for business.
The CROSS COUNTY mall was adjacent to the final construction segment of the New York State Thruway. It opened to traffic in August 1956. A fourth level was added to Gimbels in 1960. The store now encompassed 250,000 square feet; the mall, approximately 981,500 square feet.
In 1977, the Medical Center closed and was renovated into additional office space. In the same year, the shopping hub was acquired by Brooks Shopping Center, Limited Liability Company. This was a joint venture of New York City's Leonard Marx, Senior and Charles Benenson.
CROSS COUNTY CENTER, a middle-market venue, had no similar competitors in its vicinity. There were, however, more upscale shopping destinations, such as GALLERIA OF WHITE PLAINS (1981) {8.2 miles northeast, in White Plains}, THE WESTCHESTER (1995) {8.4 miles northeast, in White Plains} and THE SOURCE AT WHITE PLAINS (2003) {8.3 miles northeast, also in White Plains}.
A small (265,000 square foot) enclosed mall of twenty-six stores was built on a site directly southwest of CROSS COUNTY CENTER. Originally known as CROSS COUNTY SQUARE, it opened in August 1987. Today, this complex is known as MALL AT CROSS COUNTY.
Anchor rebrandings at CROSS COUNTY CENTER began in February 1987, when Gimbels morphed into a Stern's. The store was rebranded by Macy's in February 2001. John Wanamaker Westchester was shuttered in March 1995 and re-opened, as a Sears, on October 28 of the same year. The First National Stores supermarket had been rebannered as a Finast in mid-1963 and eventually became a Stop & Shop. In 2002, it relocated into a newly-built (65,000 square foot) Super Stop & Shop. This freestanding store was located southeast of the mall proper.
A freestanding movie house, the National Amusements Cross County Multiplex Cinemas, was built on a pad directly south of CROSS COUNTY CENTER. The venue showed first features on November 5, 1993. During the 1960s, '70s and '80s, many of America's open-air malls were enclosed and air-conditioned. However, such a remodeling was never done at CROSS COUNTY CENTER. Its management felt that, being as how the center had remained profitable, there was no need to renovate it.
A 265 million dollar remodeling did get underway in April 2007. Santa Monica, California's Macerich Company, who managed the property, supervised its renovation. The complex was left essentially the same, but upgraded into a modern, lifestyle-type mall.
Improvements included face lifts of all exteriors, refurbishment of the existing pedestrian mall with new landscaping and fountains, demolition of 47,000 square feet of retail space and construction of two new store blocks housing 95,500 square feet. Macy's was also expanded (by 92,500 square feet), a 5-level parking garage constructed and the office tower renovated into a 150-bed hotel.
Phase One of the project, which brought new American Eagle Outfitters and Guess stores, was completed in late 2008. Phase Two, adding AX Armani Exchange, Bebe, Forever 21 and H & M, concluded in 2009. Phase Three, which comprised the Macy's addition and construction of the new parking structure, was finished in late 2011.
A week-long celebration, commemorating the re-launching of the 57-year-old complex, got underway October 11, 2011. With its recent modifications, the mall encompassed approximately 1, 073,000 leasable square feet and contained eighty-seven stores and services.
At the time of the re-launching, an official grand opening was held at WESTCHESTER'S RIDGE HILL {2.1 miles north, also in Yonkers}. This open-air, cluster-type mall would eventually encompass 1,300,000 leasable square feet. Although it was in close proximity to CROSS COUNTY CENTER, it was too upscale to be a true competitor.
Sears shuttered their 23-year-old CROSS COUNTY CENTER unit on July 28, 2019. Target acquired the vacant building and rebuilt it from top to bottom. The 2-level (130,000 square foot) store welcomed first shoppers on October 22, 2023. The building's third floor was reconfigured as the SUNY (State University of New York) Westchester Yonkers campus. This facility opened in November 2022.
Sources:
The New York Times
The Daily News (New York, New York)
The Yonkers Times (Yonkers, New York)
The New Castle Tribune (Chappaqua, New York)
"Dual Anchor Shopping Centers 1952-1965" / Richard Longstreth
http://www.fultonhistory.com / Old Fulton NY Post Cards By Tom Tryniski
Draft Environmental Impact Statement / Brooks Shopping Centers LLC / Yonkers Planning Board / Jim Myers Consulting PC / August 2005
https://www.cinematreasures.org
Final Environmental Impact Statement / Brooks Shopping Centers LLC / Yonkers Planning Board / Jim Myers Consulting PC / June 2006
http://www.crosscountycenter.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.crosscountycenter.com
https://marxrealty.com / Marx Realty
https://benensoncapital.com / Benenson Capital Partners
https://www.sunywcc.edu / SUNY Westchester Yonkers
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS:
From the Gottscho-Schleisner Collection / Repository: United States Library Of Congress Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, D.C. / Taken by Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc. / Samuel Herman, April 1959 / Sol Atlas- Client / Photographs are in the public domain: no known restrictions on publication / www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html
