American Dream Meadowlands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
American Dream Meadowlands
American Dream Meadowlands logo.jpg
Location Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates 40°48′35″N 74°04′05″W / 40.80972°N 74.06806°W / 40.80972; -74.06806Coordinates: 40°48′35″N 74°04′05″W / 40.80972°N 74.06806°W / 40.80972; -74.06806
Developer Triple Five Group
Management Triple Five Group
Owner New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Website http://www.americandream.com/
American Dream seen from across the Hackensack River in Secaucus, NJ.

American Dream Meadowlands (ADM) is a partially built retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Started in 2003 as Meadowlands Xanadu, the project has been beset by financial and legal complications which have delayed construction since 2009.[1]

Contents

History and progress [edit]

The exterior of the SkiDome.

The project was officially approved in late 2003 as a joint venture between the former Mills Corporation and the Mack-Cali realty corporation. The project was billed by Mills chairman and executive officer Laurence E. Siegel as "...a new standard for bringing lifestyle, recreation, sports and family entertainment offerings together in one location."[2] Ground was broken on the complex on September 29, 2004,[3] and, at the time, was expected to open two years later.[4]

The former logo of the complex.

In May 2009, construction on Xanadu came to a halt after a subsidiary of bankrupt Lehman Brothers missed payments, causing other lenders to withdraw from the project, and lost $500 million worth of construction funding. While developers stated the mall was 70% leased,[5] it is unknown how many retailers stayed leased while the mall was delayed. In August 2009, Cabela's, a major anchor, announced that it did not plan to open its Meadowlands location until late 2010.[6] Around the same time, the complex's website was relaunched with the new Xanadu Meadowlands name.

In 2010, Stephen Ross, owner of The Related Companies in Manhattan, stated that he could finish the project by the end of 2010, possibly with a new name and look.[7] In May 2010, the managing of the mall was handed over to Related Companies, and the "Xanadu" name had been dropped, changing the name to "The Meadowlands".[8]

On August 10, 2010, Colony Capital surrendered control of the development of the mall to five lenders. A special governor's commission on the state's gaming and entertainment industry is filed recommendations to Governor of New Jersey. Four parties were noted to be interested in redeveloping the project.[9] The Wall Street Journal on December 24, 2010, reported that Triple Five signed a letter of intent to invest in and finish the stalled mall.[10]

The complex seen from the Meadowlands Sheraton.

On February 1, 2011, after a record-breaking month of snow for the area,[11] a 50 to 60-foot long section of the eastern wall had buckled and a horizontal crease was apparent on the complex's indoor ski slope. Two days later, on February 3, after workers were attempting to melt snow from the ski slope's roof, ice build-up caused the eastern wall to fail and suffer a partial collapse along an approximately 150-foot (50 m) length of roof.[12] Michael Beckerman, a spokesman for the project’s lending group stated “the Lender Group is aware of the damage to the roof caused by excessive snow and ice, but does not feel the damage affects the integrity of the structure. As such, the group has filed an insurance claim, and once the weather turns warmer, it will assess the damages and fix whatever is necessary.”[13]

On April 29, 2011, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority completed a deal with Triple Five Group, which currently owns two of North America's largest malls - West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America. Triple Five assumed ownership of the Meadowlands Mall and renamed it to "American Dream Meadowlands", with an opening date of Autumn 2013, months before Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium, just across the highway. The deal was officially announced on May 3, 2011, and it was announced Triple Five had secured land across the highway from the mall to construct a domed theme park based on DreamWorks Animation and water park, opening in the Spring of 2014.[14][15]

The mall was delayed further by financing, permitting, and a lawsuit filed by the New York Giants and New York Jets over traffic concerns.[16] On February 21, 2013, it was announced construction would begin within 3 weeks with a planned opening date of Fall 2014 for the entire project.[17]

Architecture [edit]

The exterior of the project, which is visible from the New Jersey Turnpike and New Jersey Route 3, is a combination of aluminum composite and aluminum siding, of various colors including turquoise, red, yellow, and green. The north end of the building consists of the indoor ski slope. Most politicians and the public have equally criticized the building's appearance calling it "The ugliest building in New Jersey".[18][19] Former Acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey was quoted in the New York Times as calling the structure "yucky-looking".[20]

The exterior will be redone in a more attractive color scheme starting in early 2013.[17]

Main attractions [edit]

One of the complex's parking garages.

Pepsi Globe [edit]

Announced in February 2008, the Pepsi Globe, a 287 ft (87 m) tall giant Ferris wheel with 26 passenger capsules, is to be constructed facing the NJ Turnpike. Originally due to open in 2009, the project was delayed with the rest of the mall.[21]

Entertainment [edit]

  • Indoor ice rink[17]
  • DreamWorks Amusement Park - A year round indoor amusement park[17]
  • Snow park - A year round indoor skiing and snowboarding slope, featuring a ski school; first in the United States[17]
  • Water park - A year round indoor water park[17]
  • Movie theater - 26 screen movie theater with outdoor lounge overlooking Manhattan[17]
  • Concert hall - 2,400-3,000 seat performing arts and concert venue[17]

Concerns and controversy [edit]

The mall under construction as seen from an airplane on April 19, 2008.

From traffic concerns to environmental concerns, there are many who have opposed the idea of building a permanent shopping center within the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The project is being built on state-owned land, and $81.3 million was spent on transportation improvements such as new off and on ramps and a train station at the Sports Complex.[20] Some have also called the mall a "colossal real estate nightmare"[22] and "perhaps the worst retail failure ever". [23]

The New York Giants had proposed that the mall be closed on days when the NFL team had home games, as part of the deal to build a New Meadowlands Stadium to replace Giants Stadium. The Giants then made an agreement with then-Xanadu to allow the complex to be open on game days, with the option to sue if traffic became a concern, an agreement which remains in effect now that the New Meadowlands Stadium will be co-owned with the New York Jets.[citation needed] The teams contend that while the mall will be closed on Sundays the amusement park will not, thus creating traffic jams on game days. Between 20,000 and 25,000 park at the complex on game days. Traffic studies conducted by the team estimate that 7.700 will be added by the project, while developers state that it would sixty-three.[24]

The complex was originally developed by the Mills Corporation in partnership with Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, with financing by Kan Am. In May 2006, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it was formally investigating the Mills Corporation after the company announced that it was restating four years of earnings due to executive misconduct and accounting errors. Later in the year, an analyst at Bank of America Securities pushed Mills Corporation to drop the project, citing significant cost overruns.[25]

The Federal Aviation Administration expressed concerns with the height of the observation wheel (~330 ft) affecting local air traffic to and from Teterboro Airport.[26]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Sherman, Ted (May12, 2013). "Giants and Jets question proposed connector on former Xanadu complex". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2013-08-12. 
  2. ^ "New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority Approves Meadowlands Xanadu Development Agreement". Business Wire. December 3, 2003. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
  3. ^ "Meadowlands Xanadu Announces Official Groundbreaking Ceremony Date of September 29, 2004". Business Wire. August 3, 2004. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
  4. ^ "Mills Corp. and Mack-Cali Sign Deal to Create 4.76m s/f Meadowlands Sport and Leisure Arena". Real Estate Weekly. December 17, 2003. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
  5. ^ Pristin, Terry (May 19, 2009). "At $2.3 Billion, This Mall Could Be Too Big to Fail". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-16. 
  6. ^ Brennan, John (August 3, 2009). "Key Xanadu tenant describes "late 2010" for Xanadu debut". The Record. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. 
  7. ^ Tangel, Andrew (February 7, 2010). "Xanadu’s $3B ‘White Knight’ knows how to get things done". The Record. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 
  8. ^ Brennan, John (May 15, 2010). "Ross Taking over Xanadu, Dumping Name". The Record. Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-11. 
  9. ^ Sherman, Ted (November 21, 2010). "Panel will advise Gov. Christie on four potential suitors in Xanadu redevelopment". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
  10. ^ Brown, Eliot; Fleisher, Lisa (December 24, 2010). "Deal Revives New Jersey's Xanadu". The Wall Street Journal. 
  11. ^ "Snowstorm Shatters New York City, Philadelphia Records". AccuWeather.com. January 27, 2011.
  12. ^ Lamendola, Michael (February 10, 2011). "Protective wall, roof damaged at Xanadu ski dome". South Bergenite. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
  13. ^ Brennan, John (February 3, 2011). "Ice buildup causes wall to buckle at Xanadu's snow dome". The Record. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
  14. ^ Brennan, John (April 28, 2011). "Mall of America firm completes deal with Xanadu lenders". The Record. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
  15. ^ Bagli, Charles V.; Pérez-Peña, Richard (April 28, 2011). "For Xanadu Mall, Stalled and Scorned, Deal May Offer New Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-08. 
  16. ^ Sherman, Ted (May 17, 2013). "Sports Authority approves expanded American Dream proposal ". NJ.com
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Brennan, John (February 21, 2013). "Work on American Dream complex set to resume in March, official says". NorthJersey.com
  18. ^ "NJ's 'ugliest-building' fix". New York Post. March 25, 2011. 
  19. ^ "New Jersey Governor Christie promises facelift to NJ's 'ugliest' building". http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=8032220.  Text " 7online.com" ignored (help);
  20. ^ a b Pristin, Terry (April 23, 2008). "Is a Giant Mall an Eyesore? Developer Urges Patience". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-21. 
  21. ^ Brennan, John (April 29, 2009). "Pepsi Globe Delayed". The Record. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-14. [dead link]
  22. ^ Donohue, Brian (February 4, 2010). "Giants Stadium demolition - can they take down Xanadu next?". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-21. 
  23. ^ Applebome, Peter (January 24, 2010). "Possible Second Life for Stalled Xanadu Project? Consider Trip to ‘Jersey Shore’". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-21. 
  24. ^ Brennan, John (December 7, 2012). "Small step forward for American Dream parks". NorthJersey.com.
  25. ^ Gopal, Prashant; Brennan, John (August 12, 2006). "Analyst tells Mills to drop Xanadu". The Record. p. A01. 
  26. ^ Clunn, Nick (October 19, 2007). "FAA seeks shorter Ferris wheel at Xanadu". The Record. p. A01. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: American Dream Meadowlands
New York
New Jersey
Connecticut
Italic text indicates unbuilt malls
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Dream_Meadowlands&oldid=556047467"