Route 120 and Road D
Bergen County (Borough of East Rutherford), New Jersey
The development of New Jersey's MEADOWLANDS mega mall was wrought with numerous delays and diversions. Originally scheduled for an April 2007 grand opening, the inauguration of the problem-plagued project was pushed back over 12 years.
Our story begins in the New Jersey-Hackensack Meadowlands, an 8,400-acre wetland. In the 1940s, the area began to be used as a landfill and toxic waste dump. In 1968, the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (later renamed the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) was formed. This was followed by the creation of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, in 1971, who were charged with the development of a tri-venue Meadowlands Sports Complex.
Construction commenced at two sites in November 1972. In September 1976, the Meadowlands Racetrack, a harness-racing facility, became the first to open. Giants Stadium, the new home of the National Football League's New York Giants, was dedicated in October of the same year. A third venue, originally known as the Brendan Byrne Arena, opened in July 1981.
We now zoom to 1996. The Arlington, Virginia-based Mills Corporation proposes MEADOWLANDS MILLS, a 4.8 million square foot "value mega mall." This was to be built on a northeastern New Jersey parcel known as the Empire Tract. Community opposition forced the cancellation of this plan in 2002.
At the same time, an alternate plan was drawn up by the New Jersey Sports & Exhibition Authority. They were seeking a developer for a section of the New Jersey-Hackensack Meadowlands site. This area, which encompassed 104-acres, was situated .9 miles west of the Empire Tract and 5.5 miles northwest of Manhattan's Times Square. The following projects were proposed in September 2002;
*ARENA PLACE, a 989 million dollar urban village concept from the Australia-based Westfield Group.
*EXPO PARK AT THE MEADOWLANDS, an 815 million dollar mix of convention and hospitality facilities with a Formula One race track. This prospectus came from a consortium of Secaucus-based Hartz Mountain Industries and Cleveland's Forest City Ratner.
*MEADOWFEST AMERICA, a less elaborate, 42 million dollar, retail-restaurant-family fun concept from the Edmonton-based Triple Five Corporation (builders of WEST EDMONTON MALL and MALL OF AMERICA).
And
*XANADU, the most elaborate proposition of all. This 1.3 billion dollar "shoppertainment" facility was envisaged by a joint venture of the Mills Corporation, Cranford, New Jersey-based Mack-Cali Realty and Munich, Germany-based KanAm.
In February 2003, the Mills-XANADU plan was approved by the NJSEA. A slew of contentious lawsuits, filed by Hartz Mountain, the Westfield Group and several environmental conservation entities, followed. These cases were eventually resolved.
Ground was broken for MEADOWLANDS XANADU on September 29, 2004. Classed as one of the largest commercial real estate projects in the nation, the complex was designed by the New York City-based Rockwell Group and Middletown, New Jersey-based T & M Associates. The mall would cover 5-levels, with the first being dedicated to customer parking.
The structure would be an American counterpart to the Mills Corporation's European MADRID XANADU complex, which had opened in May 2003. Like its predecessor, MEADOWLANDS XANADU would be based around an indoor ski slope, known in the early years as the Snow Dome. This would anchor The Sports District, one of five Districts comprising the mall.
The Sports District would also include SkyVenture (a skydiving simulator and vertical wind tunnel), Formula1 (an indoor go-kart track), Adrenalina (a surfing store), a wave pool and Sydney, Nebraska-based Cabela's (a specialty retailer carrying hunting, fishing and camping accessories). The Sports District Center Court would feature the world's largest LED screen, that would televise ongoing sporting events.
Other sections of MEADOWLANDS XANADU would have been...
The Entertainment District; this based around an Entertainment Weekly interactive experience. There would be Digital Playground (a new concept store from Circuit City), Virgin MegaStore, Borders Books, House of Blues (a music-based dinner theater), The Funplex (a state-of-the-art family fun center), Wonder Works (an "interactive adventure" museum) and Lucky Strike Lanes (an Art Deco-style bowling alley).
The Children's Education District would house a Legoland Discovery Center, Party House, It's Sugar! (which would be the largest specialty sweets store in the world) and Wannado City (a children's "grown-up career simulator" attraction).
The Muvico Xanadu 26 Theatres. An Egyptian-motif, stadium seating megaplex with an upscale, rooftop restaurant and its own heliport. This cinema would occupy a massive enclosed area built over The Children's Education District.
The Food & Home District. With a Balducci's Gourmet Grocery, Cooking Studio (a broadcast facility for culinary TV shows), Viking Culinary Arts Center (a cooking school), various home design expositions and several full-service restaurants. These would include The Cheesecake Factory, Benihana, Mitchell's Fish Market and The Melting Pot.
The Fashion District, encompassing the major retail portion of the MEADOWLANDS XANADU complex, would include the Elle Pavilion Fashion Runway. The initial collection of fashion-forward retailers was to include Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch and Mango.
On the periphery of XANADU would be 1.8 million square feet of class A office space, in four high rise structures, a 500,000 square foot luxury hotel and the Bergen Ballpark, a venue for the prospective minor league baseball Bergen Cliff Hawks.
Shopping venues in the periphery of the MEADOWLANDS XANADU site included WESTFIELD GARDEN STATE PLAZA (1957) {6.8 miles northwest, in Paramus}, BERGEN MALL (1957) {6.7 miles north, in Paramus and Maywood}, SHOPS AT RIVERSIDE (1977) {6.8 miles northeast, in Hackensack}, MALL AT MILL CREEK (1986) {1.6 miles southwest, in Secaucus} and NEWPORT CENTRE (1987) {5.7 miles southeast, in Jersey City}..
MEADOWLANDS XANADU looked good on paper. Unfortunately, The Great Recession got in its way. The first sign of trouble came in mid-2006, when financial improprieties at the Mills Corporation caused the collapse of that company. The Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group came in to pick up the pieces in April 2007.
The lion's share of the Mills stake in MEADOWLANDS XANADU had been sold to a joint venture of Los Angeles-based Colony Capital and New York City-based Dune Capital Management in November 2006. Germany's KanAm remained on board.
Construction progressed on the project. However, a declining world economy caused several prospective tenants to file for bankruptcy or scale back expansion plans. Exit Elle Pavilion Fashion Runway, Borders Books, House of Blues, Balducci's Gourmet Grocery, Digital Playground, Virgin MegaStore, Against All Odds, Muvico and the Bergen Ballpark.
Likewise, Cabela's was originally planned as a 175,000 square foot operation with an indoor fishing pond. The size of the prospective store was reduced to 160,000, 125,000, and -finally- 110,000 square feet. Cabela's ended up cancelling plans for the store.
By late 2007, it was reported that all MEADOWLANDS XANADU parking structures had been built. In 2008, the exterior of the mammoth structure was in place. In January 2009, it was stated that the complex was eighty-percent complete. However, the crash of Lehman Brothers, a major financier, resulted in a shortage of funds to do finishing touches. Work ground to a halt in May 2009.
New York City-based Related Companies took the helm in August 2010. The official name of the complex was shortened to MEADOWLANDS. Unfortunately, the Related Companies initiative failed to resuscitate the stalled project. In April 2011, it was announced that Canada's Triple Five Corporation was to take control of the development. The complex received a new name; AMERICAN DREAM MEADOWLANDS. This eventually morphed into simply AMERICAN DREAM.
A major reworking of the existing structure got underway. New plans were drawn by San Francisco-based Gensler, Detroit-based GH+A Design Studios and East Rutherford, New Jersey-based Adamson Associates. The building's controversial exterior received a complete makeover. A glass-enclosed amusement park and water park would also be built on an adjacent parcel.
Office spaces originally proposed were omitted from the final plan. Moreover, the concept of five individual Districts within the mall was dropped. Long range plans included a convention center and hotels; these to be built in the vicinity of a 4.8 million square foot retail, sports, entertainment and hospitality complex.
Before construction work could resume, the owners of the New York Jets and Giants teams filed a lawsuit stipulating that, as proposed, the AMERICAN DREAM mall would cause crippling traffic congestion in the vicinity of their sports venue. The mall's owners filed a counter suit. Work on the project remained at a standstill.
An official grand opening was delayed. The mall was not in business by the time of Super Bowl XLVIII (48), which was played at the adjacent MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014. In April 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) officiated at a press conference where he announced that the AMERICAN DREAM mega mall was (once again) on track.
Litigation between Triple Five and the New York Giants and Jets franchises was settled. Construction resumed in November 2014. The controversial building exterior was repainted and work got underway on the water and amusement park sections.
The long-delayed retail and entertainment complex would feature a London Eye-like observation wheel, NHL-sized indoor skating facility, two mini-golf courses and The Big Snow (nee' Snow Dome) indoor ski slope. Other attractions would include a LegoLand Discovery Center, SeaLife Aquarium and live performing arts dinner theater. For-pay parking facilities would accommodate over 12,000 autos.
In September 2015, it was announced that a 2-level (119,600 square foot) Lord & Taylor and 2-level (131,900 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue would be anchoring an upscale fashion concourse. The indoor amusement park would be branded as a Nickelodeon Universe. Adjacent to this would be a fully-enclosed DreamWorks Water Park.
A list of inline stores now included Banana Republic, Lululemon Athletica, Uniqlo, Zara, Artizia, Pink, Victoria's Secret and (100,000 square foot) Primark. Saks Fifth Avenue would still be establishing a 2-level (131,900 square foot) location. However, plans for Lord & Taylor were scrapped, with a 2-level (50,000 square foot) Barney's New York slated to occupy a portion of that store space. Eventually, plans for this store were also cancelled.
AMERICAN DREAM was to house over 450 shops, more than 100 food vendors and several major entertainment facilities. Construction ground to a halt in December 2016 but had resumed by June 2017. A dedication date set for the summer of 2017 was pushed back over 2 years.
In September 2019, it was announced that the mega mall would open in four "chapters." The first, comprising the dedications of Nickelodeon Universe and The Rink, opened for business on October 25, 2019. It had taken over 15 years to get two mall tenants in operation!
The second chapter, the DreamWorks Water Park, was originally scheduled for a November 2019 start-up. However, its grand opening was delayed until March 19, 2020. In the meantime, the third chapter, or Big Snow American Dream ski slope, made its debut on December 5th, 2019. Various retail stores and restaurants, comprising the fourth chapter, were scheduled to commence operation in March 2020. However, these dedications were postponed. On March 8th, the mall closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On September 1, 2020, the Big Snow ski slope resumed operation. Nickelodeon Universe, DreamWorks Water Park and The Rink re-opened on October 1, 2020. At this time, eighty-one stores and services also welcomed first shoppers. These included American Eagle Outfitters, Eddie Bauer, Express, H & M, Old Navy, Skechers Shoes, Primark, Hollister and Zara. The 17-bay Coca-Cola Eats Food Court debuted late in October 2020. Vendors included Charley's Philly Steaks, Grisini Pizza, Kelly's Cajun Grill, Taco Bell and Wendy's.
The Avenue, a wing of luxury retailers and upscale restaurants, was inaugurated on September 17, 2021. Tenants included Hermes, Johnny Was, Gucci and the Carpaccio Italian restaurant.
In May 2022, it was revealed that AMERICAN DREAM was loosing money, with a deficit of nearly 60 million dollars reported. The Triple Five Corporation, who had used their WEST EDMONTON MALL and MALL OF AMERICA properties as collateral for a loan to purchase the MEADOWLANDS mall, were now in dire -financial- straits. By 2024, the financial situation had improved due to several newly-opened stores and attractions.
Meanwhile, a second culinary complex was dedicated in July 2022. The Food Hall housed seven vendors. These included Vinoteca wine experience, Lady M luxury confections and Vanessa's Dumpling House.
The mall's third food facility, the H Mart Food Hall, debuted in May 2024. Among its eleven vendors were Gold Miss Mochi Donut & Hotdog Shop, BBQ Chicken, Let Them Talk No Tip Bar and Don Don Curry. This Food Hall was an adjunct of the (35,000 square foot) H Mart Asian grocery, which had opened in February 2023.
Future plans call for the completion of two theatrical venues. The B & B Theatres at American Dream megaplex will occupy Level 4 space. This 8-screen venue will include bowling lanes, food vendors and a video arcade. Moreover, a ScreenX auditorium will provide a "270-degree panoramic viewing experience." The American Dream Performing Arts Center, on Level 2, will host live events.
Sources:
The New York Times
http://visitmeadowlands.com
http://millscorp.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.mack-cali.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://meadowlandsmills.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.meadowlands.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.xanadumeadowlandsnj.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.americandream.com
http://www.northnewjersey.com
http://www.blognj.com / Comment post by Mark DiIonno
Stadium Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement
http://crebeat.com
http://www.jacksononline.com
http://retailtrafficmag.com
http://www.bloomberg.com
http://www.northnewjersey.com
https://www.forbes.com
http://www.nj.com
http://pderesults.com / Provident Design Engineering
"American Dream Meadowlands" article on Wikipedia
