The main thread of this article is in the Midwestern US forums. I only posted this here because some of you might be interested in hearing about the expansion plans, which go well beyond the interests of just the Midwestern US.
Mods, if you want to delete this because it's redundant, then do so. Or if you want to delete the Midwest version then that's OK too. Thanks!
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Here's an update to the plans for the expansion of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the mall we all love to hate.
These are the latest approved plans for the Mall of America. The new addition will be four stories mostly, and measure 1,567 feet north-south by 1,312 feet east-west. The cost is approx. $1 Billion US and will add 5.6 million square feet to the existing 4.2 million square feet. Construction will begin in 2007.
With this addition, the Mall of America will become the largest single shopping complex in the Western Hemisphere.
The mall currently includes a University, wedding chapel and one of the world's largest aquariums in addition to the largest indoor amusement park in the world.
In comparison, this will make the Mall of America roughly twice the square footage of Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building.
Tenants will include several hundred new stores, a 300,000 square foot Bass Pro Shop, a 6,000-seat performing arts center (built in conjunction with
AEG), a new
Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster, a waterpark, hockey rink, museum, a
Kimpton Hotel, a dinner theatre, residences and office space. Total parking spaces will top 20,000. In addition, $25 million is being invested in upgrading the existing 5-acre indoor amusement park. The expansion will also add a link to the existing IKEA as shown below.
You can see the complete plans in PDF format here. These plans were produced last summer, and are still expected to change somewhat.
