Meadowlands entertainment complex gets a Dream makeover

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Standing in another half-built development that will get hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives, Gov. Christie today ushered in the "American Dream" to northern New Jersey.

The much-maligned and long-delayed Xanadu development at the Meadowlands, which Christie himself has called the "the ugliest damn building in New Jersey, and maybe America," will get a makeover by the Canadian developer who built Mall of America in Minnesota.

Next to the Jets' and Giants' stadium, with a dead-on view of the Manhattan skyline, the complex to be called American Dream at Meadowlands will feature high-end shopping, a 26-screen movie theater, nightclubs, a performing arts theater, world-class restaurants, an indoor ice skating rink, and an indoor ski slope (with moguls and a snowboard half-pipe), according to Triple Five, the developer.

And in a structural addition to the original Xanadu, there will be glass-domed amusement and water parks - with sand and real palm trees.

"Today we are proud to announce that we will be developing the world's largest and most comprehensive retail, entertainment, amusement, recreation and tourism project ever built," said Nader Ghermezian, the chairman of Triple Five. "You can never find a mixed-use tourism development of this kind anywhere in the world."

The economic impact for New Jersey, he said, would be $3.8 billion.

The project will get at least $200 million in tax incentives from the state, Christie said at a news conference inside the 2.4 million-square-foot, partially built structure. But he refused to provide more details about the deal his administration worked out with the family of Iranian immigrants to Canada who run Triple Five.

"I'm not going to get into the fine print while I'm standing up here before you, but it'll work," the governor said.

Christie said the financing would be similar to the deal he announced in February for another unfinished multibillion dollar project: the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. To get construction completed there and to give Atlantic City a boost, the state Economic Development Authority provided a $261 million tax rebate over 20 years for infrastructure improvements. In return, the state took a 20 percent stake in Revel management's ownership interest.

Christie cited Revel in his remarks today and said the state's contribution in both cases was "not as a government giveaway, but as a responsible partnership with partners we trust."

"It's a critical sign that New Jersey is making its comeback," Christie said, criticizing the Corzine administration for failing to incentivize businesses in the same way.

The Sierra Club blasted the arrangement, releasing a statement even before the media tour of the facility was over.

The environmental group said American Dream, sitting on the most valuable piece of real estate in New Jersey, would end up getting $350 million in tax subsidies once it expands, as it has planned.

"They may want to call this the American Dream, but it is a taxpayer nightmare that will pick the pockets of the average citizens of New Jersey," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "It is unconscionable that at a time when the average citizens are hurting financially, local governments are broke, and property taxes are rising that we are subsidizing this monster mall."

The Sierra Club has concerns about the amount of public money that will have to be spent on roadway improvements and rail extensions. Triple Five Senior Vice President Paul Ghermezian said neither were needed.

Tittel also predicted that the facility would become the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the state. Ghermezian said the company was looking into using solar energy.

According to the Christie administration, the complex will create more than 9,000 construction jobs and 30,000 permanent jobs once it opens. Officials expect between 50 million and 60 million annual visitors, with half of them tourists.

Most of American Dream will open in the fall of 2013, in time for the Super Bowl scheduled to be played at the new Meadowlands stadium.

Triple Five plans to invest $1.5 billion atop the $2 billion already spent there, and expand by nearly a third, or 1 million square feet. The existing structure is well on its way to completion, with extensive aesthetic changes planned. Other essentials - such as escalators and the ski lift - also are in place.

Paul Ghermezian spoke enthusiastically about the ski slope, saying visitors would be able to rent everything they needed, including jackets, and ski 365 days a year in the climate-controlled environment.

The theater at American Dream will have seating for between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Screens in the center of the complex will change colors on football game day, depending on whether the Jets or Giants are playing next door. And there are plans to build either a bar or movie theater on an outdoor patio that has spectacular views of New York, about 10 miles to the east.

The best view of the city, though, would come atop the planned Ferris wheel, he said.

"Everybody in Manhattan is going to look out over here and say, 'Wow, look at that!'" Paul Ghermezian said.

The stores will have a "much more sophisticated feel" than those that were planned for Xanadu, he said.

Most of all, Triple Five vowed to replace the massive multicolored exterior panels, so hated by Christie, with a colorless facade that has "sleek lines with a modern energy," Paul Ghermezian said.

From New York, the building will give off a "blue glow," he said.

Xanadu has had a tortured history since it first went to bid in 2003. The opening had been planned for 2007.

Mills Corp. was the first developer, but it ran out of money in 2006 and was taken over by Colony Capital L.L.C. Construction stalled in 2008 after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which had financed the project. When Colony's lenders foreclosed last year, Triple Five came in.

"This project cannot sustain any more failure," Christie said.