YONKERS-A private developer here has hired the Macerich Co., to lease, manage and expand the one-million-sf Cross County Shopping Center. Renovation plans call for the addition of 245,375 sf of lifestyle-center space to the Sears- and Macy's-anchored mall, Michael Busenhart, a Macerich senior vice president, tells GlobeSt.com.

The owner of Cross County is a group of private investors under the name Brooks Shopping Center LLC, which is represented by the New York City-based investment firm Benenson Capital Partners. Cross County was built in 1954 and is at the intersection of Cross County Parkway and Interstate-87.

The center has about 90 specialty tenants, and its sales per sf are more than $525, according to the firms. The mall's site also features an eight-story office building.

Not only will Macerich add the lifestyle component to the center, but the firm plans to upgrade the exterior of the entire open-air development, Busenhart says. No cost has yet been determined for the project, he says.

Macerich is not a big third-party management firm – the company usually owns its own malls. But "we do it on a selective basis with people we want to establish relationships with," Busenhart says.

The Santa Monica, CA-based Macerich operates eight shopping centers in New York State. In 2004 it completed the renovation and expansion of its Queens Center, which added nearly 400,000 sf to the 963,041-sf mall.

Macerich, the owner of 76 regional malls across the country, currently has plans to remodel a number of its centers. Management plans to add mixed-use components, such as high-rise residential buildings to the 2.3-million-sf Tysons Corner Center in McLean, VA; the 608,976-sf Biltmore Fashion Park, in Phoenix; and the 2.1-million-sf Scottsdale (AZ) Fashion Square.