As the joke goes, the “crane” is the new official bird of the Meadowlands.
Numerous construction cranes tower over the property around the megamall once known as Xanadu near MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. After several attempts to bring Xanadu to life over the past decade, the project was reincarnated last year as American Dream, a mall and much more.
The most recent plans call for a massive entertainment complex attached to a shopping center, complete with an indoor water park and ski slope, an aquarium, theater, Ferris wheel, and other attractions.
The builders have not given a completion date for the oft-delayed project. Last week, Debbie Patire, senior vice president of marketing for American Dream, declined to comment on the progress of the project. Asked for press materials or information on the site, she said, “We have not issued anything in the two years I have been here.”
A massive entertainment complex
What is known is that the developers plan to include a DreamWorks themed park at the site. Passersby can see tall cranes south of the existing structure, near Route 3 and the New Jersey Turnpike, parallel to the Hackensack River. This is where the 300,000-plus square foot amusement park and 225,000-plus square foot water park will be built.
It will feature an indoor water park and ski slope, an aquarium, theater, and Ferris wheel.
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The complex is also scheduled to include the first indoor ski and snowboard park in the Western hemisphere, a 180,000-square-foot structure featuring a 800-foot (12-story) ski slope for skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.
An NHL sized indoor ice rink will host recreational hockey, figure skating programs and lessons, and public skating/events.
Other planned features include 180,000 square feet of movie theaters with over 5,000 seats, a 65,000-square-foot performing arts theater with 2,400 to 3,000 seats that will host live concerts and productions, and an 18-hole miniature golf course.
Towering over it all will be an observation wheel, complete with 26 climate-controlled gondolas providing 25 minute panoramic views of the New York City skyline.
A troubled history
Triple Five Group, the current owners and developers of the mall, is a Canadian-based company that owns two of North America’s largest malls: West Edmonton Mall in Canada and Mall of America in Minneapolis-St. Paul. They reportedly plan to spend almost $2 billion dollars on the American Dream project.
One of their first acts was to bury the seemingly-cursed Xanadu name. Under that moniker the mall encountered trouble almost from inception in 2003, with two developers exiting the project after spending nearly $2 billion.
More recently a protracted lawsuit with the NY Giants and Jets was settled by an agreement between the involved parties, clearing the way for Triple Five to move forward.
Also planned is an overhaul of the widely criticized exterior of the mall. Frequently cited as an eyesore for its current colors of dull green, blue, and earth tones, the building elicited a comment from no less than Gov. Chris Christie, who said, “One of the first projects is going to be getting that ugly outside of the building the hell off of this building.”
Triple Five plans to redo the exterior with a sleek glass façade.
Possible mall tenants
Although the mall owners are keeping mum publicly about retail tenants, according to NJ.com they distributed a brochure at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ retail convention last December listing 50 retailers as committed to American Dream.
Among those listed in the brochure as planning to open stores in the mall were Victoria’s Secret, The Gap, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor.
In total the mall is expected to hold more than 400 retailers, services, and restaurants, including an upscale gourmet food hall and the “world’s first exclusive kosher food hall.”
Triple Five is banking on the location to be a draw for customers throughout the region, as well as tourists visiting the New York metropolitan area.
The official website includes no information on a projected opening date for the complex, but according to ads taken out by Triple Five at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ convention, the mall will be “opening Holiday 2016.”
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.
SIDEBAR:
Developers have big plans for Kingsland site
Bergen County companies team up to develop former landfills
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) accepted a bid for $42.5 million from two Bergen County developers for the 718-acre Meadowlands property known as the Kingsland site. Russo Development of Carlstadt and Forsgate Industrial Partners of Teterboro hope to purchase and redevelop the former landfills into distribution facilities, data centers, solar farms, and more, as well as creating a nature trail in the Rutherford Wetlands.
Both companies are located nearby the property and have been involved in extensive development throughout the region and elsewhere.
“Russo is committed to advancing redevelopment in the Meadowlands which has been our home for over four decades,” said Ed Russo, Russo’s chief executive officer, in a statement to the press. “We have always taken a personal interest in creating high-quality developments on the most challenging sites. This site is the capstone of that initiative and we are very grateful for the opportunity to make it a part of our legacy.”
“Forsgate constructed its first building in the Meadowlands almost 50 years ago,” added Alex Klatskin, FAIA, general partner at Forsgate Industrial Partners. “We are honored to have been chosen to continue our commitment to the environmental and economic ecosystems of the region.”
The bid acceptance on June 15 was among the first actions taken by the NJSEA following their consolidation with the Meadowlands Commission earlier this year.
The location was previously the site of a proposed golf and real estate project known as EnCap. That project crumbled in 2008 when the developer filed for bankruptcy.