BBB is working with owners North American Properties, Nuveen Real Estate, and Taconic Partners on a master plan for public realm improvements at Ridge Hill, an underperforming outdoor retail center in Westchester County, New York with great potential.
The goal: a more active, welcoming 18-hour destination with expanded programming and a more diverse mix of uses including residential, hotel, and office.
The strategy: lay the groundwork for community, and foot traffic will follow.
ICSC recently interviewed BBB Partner Maxwell Pau about the redevelopment. Read excerpts from their conversation below:
“Town Square is right in the heart of the development and is the most important open space that we’re revitalizing,” Pau said. In the current configuration, the architect noted, underused Second Street runs in front of a retail building, cutting it off from the rest of the plaza. “It just felt a little odd,” he explained. “We’re now extending the plaza right to the front doors of that building.”
The closure of Second Street and partial demolition of the Lord & Taylor building will expand the plaza to the east and west, Pau noted, creating a larger public space that “will really be quite interesting and nice for future retailers and restaurants.” Other pedestrian-friendly changes are part of the mix. “On the Market Street side, which is the main spine that connects north and south, there will be a crosswalk that is raised to the level of the sidewalk,” Pau said. “It brings you to the west side, where Apple is now.”
Beyer Blinder Belle also wanted to unify the aesthetic and reduce the amount of variation in styles, colors and materials at Ridge Hill, an approach that had worked in its redevelopment of Colony Square. “There was a lot of visual noise in terms of the existing architecture,” Pau recalled. “It was taking away from the identity of individual storefronts and retailers. It’s important that the architecture form the backbone for the storefronts so that they can stand out.”
Planned facelifts of multiple buildings, including those in Park Plaza near Legoland and T.J. Maxx, will bring consistency, Pau said. “There will be a common architectural language in terms of the colors and materials — just a much cleaner, more contemporary feel — with a lot more glass and glazing. The intent there is to have more transparency.”
Read the entire ICSC feature for more about how Ridge Hill offers a model for transforming retail at a time of challenge for the industry.
