A group of real estate firms has secured nearly $200 million to refinance Ridge Hill, an open-air shopping center in Yonkers, New York. Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies issued a $198.5 million loan to Jamestown, Taconic Partners, Nuveen Real Estate, and a public pension plan. The Commercial Observer reported that the loan will be used to pay off existing debt and support new leasing initiatives at the property.
The refinancing was arranged by JLL Capital Markets, with Aaron Niedermayer, Kellogg Gaines, and Evan Pariser leading the effort.
Ridge Hill is a 1.2-million-square-foot retail center located at 1 Ridge Hill Boulevard. Since opening in 2011, it has attracted tenants such as Apple, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Whole Foods Market, T.J. Maxx, and Lowe’s. The center also offers restaurants and entertainment venues including a Legoland Discovery Center, a 12-screen movie theater, an indoor skydiving facility, and an LA Fitness gym.
Recent improvements include a 17,000-square-foot activity area for families and a 25,000-square-foot community hub called “Town Square.” Over the past three years, tenants have leased 679,000 square feet at Ridge Hill. The property changed ownership in 2022 for $220 million.
This deal follows another refinancing transaction on Ridge Hill Boulevard earlier this month when Azorim North America obtained a $145 million loan from Acore Capital for Mizora at Ridge Hill—a nearby multifamily complex with 364 units.
In other developments in Yonkers’ real estate landscape, MGM Resorts withdrew from the downstate casino competition despite recent local support for its proposal. According to MGM Resorts: “a newly defined competitive landscape,” pointing to how the remaining proposals were clustered in a “small geographic area.”
