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No Public Plans Have Been Revealed By Developer For Mall Future; Tenants Have Been Told To Continue Paying Leases
By Tina Traster
Gabe Alexander’s companies Nanuet Holdings NY LLC and Nanuet Holdings DE LLC paid $60 million to purchase the Shops at Nanuet, its out parcels, the former Sears building and automotive center, according to deeds filed today with the Rockland County Clerk.
Alexander, a local developer based on Squadron Boulevard in New City, who has a deep portfolio in Rockland County, bought the fatigued mall at 912-1000 Fashion Drive and the Verizon and Banchetto sites for $52 million. He also snapped up the former Sears buildings and parking lots for $8 million.
He also bought 17 Dykes Park Road, which was transferred to GA Ventures 2 LLC, vacant land off Route 59 to the west of Rockland Plaza.
Alexander’s buying spree has left the community both surprised and wondering what his visions are for the future. However, Alexander has communicated his plans publicly.
Nanuet Holdings DE LLC secured a $2.8 building loan from Prime Finance Short Duration Holdings company, a short-term lender, for the shopping center.
It is no surprise that the Shops at Nanuet, owned by Simon Property Group (Retail Property Trust), had been struggling for several years but few, including tenants, knew the property was being marketed for sale.
At the end of December, mall tenants received letters saying the mall was under new ownership. The head-spinning change of ownership shocked tenants, some of whom knew Alexander was in talks with the mall in late fall but hadn’t believed the mall was truly for sale.
By New Years, Simon had removed its signage.
Alexander’s timing jives with a wave of investment activity in open-air neighborhood shopping centers nationally, particularly those anchored by a grocery store on a long-term lease. The Stop-N-Shop that replaced Fairway at the center has a 20-year lease with four five-year options.
Nationally, rising occupancy rates in retail centers have drawn institutional investors.
According to Green Street , a real estate research firm, pedestrian traffic to grocery stores was up 12 percent in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period on 2019. Grocery-anchored centers traditionally fill smaller spaces with small businesses that don’t compete with online players, such as coffee shops, medical users, hair and nail salons.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least $10 billion worth of U.S. open-air retail portfolios are expected to change hands in 2025, based on a study by CBRE, a real estate specialist.
While leases appear to be carrying over without modification, for now, tenants feel in the dark because Alexander has not telegraphed his intentions for the flagging mall, which has lost several credit-rated high-end tenants since it was built more than a decade ago.
Alexander is widely known for bringing the Bingo food market to Spring Valley, which caters to the Orthodox Jewish community. Tenants speaking on the condition that they remain anonymous said they’re worried about the mall’s plans, particularly if future tenants begin to become more targeted to the Orthodox community because a change of demographics could portend a different customer base over time.
“There are several restaurants here and they’re not kosher,” remarked one.
Valerie Moldow, president of the Nanuet Civic Association, said she’s concerned about the future of the Shops because it represents a major real estate asset in the town.
“I’d like to see responsible, commercially minded development,” she said. “I want (Alexander) to talk to us.”
The Shops at Nanuet had accused the town of overinflating the mall’s assessment for years.
As a result of an undisclosed settlement, the town reduced the market value of the mall property from $120 million to $65 million.
It’s been just a little more than a decade since Simon Properties debuted an outdoor mall that showcased high-end fashion brands like Michael Kors, Coach, Victoria’s Secret, White House/Black Market, Jos. A Banks, and an Apple store at the Shops at Nanuet.
But the test of time, a changing economy, internet shopping, a global pandemic, and perhaps misjudgment as to what would be sustainable in the Route 59 corridor, led to noticeable changes in the tenant mix at the Shops of Nanuet. Over the past year or so, more mom-and-pop retailers, as well as fast fashion, discount retailers, a children’s bounce house, cell phone repair and service stores, and other off-brand enterprises filled long-empty spaces and changing the character of the former fashion-forward mall.
While Alexander is from the Orthodox community, many of his projects are mainstream including the Pavion, an apartment building in Nyack constructed on the site of a former cosmetics plant, Mountainside in Pomona, 225 rental units on Forest Drive, as well as plans for senior living on the former Camp Merockdim (the former Camp Champion) in New City. In 2022, One75 LLC, an LLC managed by Alexander, purchased the former camp site for $3.35 million. The 9.18-acre parcel, at 175 West Clarkstown Road was last known as Camp Merockdim, an Orthodox Jewish day camp.
In Jan. 2022, Alexander, as Mountainside Pomona LLC, bought Mountainside Apartments in Garnerville, a 225-unit garden apartment community, for $42.5 million.
Alexander also has extensive warehouse and land holdings in Orangetown. In 2017, he bought 125 and 155 South Greenbush Road in Orangeburg, for $23 million. Alexander has been trying to increase the warehouses but has met with opposition from town residents. Town Supervisor Teresa Kenny recently said the developer was open to alternatives.
The developer also purchased the Oak Tree Lane bungalow colony on Oak Tree Lane in the Town of Haverstraw in 2018 for $5.2 million. The project, which displaced low-income tenants, is slated to include a mix of studio, one and two-bedrooms totaling 228 apartments in four buildings and a 10,000 square foot, one-story community center with outdoor pool, gym, multipurpose room, offices, restroom, and display kitchen. A playground and dog park are planned as well as 471 parking spaces.
