NEW JERSEY | American Dream@Meadowlands (Xanadu)

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by aquablue

However, that rail link is not frequent. It needs to be electrified and have regular service.

That's because the American Dream complex isn't opened yet. There's nothing there right now.

In fact, the rail line doesn't operate at all, unless there's an event at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. There has never been "normal" rail service on this line.

When they built the line, they always said they wouldn't open it for regular service until the Xanadu (now American Dream) complex opens. The original developers, BTW, had to pay a significant portion of the construction costs.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by NYguy

^ Well, this is far more than just a mall.

Its still a boondoggle that no one really wants , but the greedy developers smooth talk their way into tax breaks from there buddies in Trenton while leaving the County and local towns high dry.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by aquablue

NJ should develop more public transit, i.e, rail, which will mean that such large developments are less likely to face opposition due to traffic arguments. The Governor seems like an short sighted man who is anti-rail or something. Pity you'll have him for another 4 years. Perhaps if this is a real hit, there will be no choice but to look at expanding rail there in the future.

We are developing more Rail , all of our plans have stalled and not due to the Governor which supports the other projects but due to NJT's incompetence.... I don't support adding Rail to this complex at least not intill the backlog of projects like the Hudson Bergen LRT Expansions or the Newark LRT expansions are completed or the Southern Jersey network which has been promised for over 15 years and nothing has moved yet. So if this project were to receive upgrades it would outrage the entire state while benefiting less then those said projects. As from LRT there are a slew of Regional Rail and Bus Rapid projects that NJT would like to do , but for some reason even with Governor support hasn't. The Developer should have to pay for the LRT extension not us tax payers ,it really only benefits him and not the state from a transportation view like any of the backlogged projects.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by aquablue

However, that rail link is not frequent. It needs to be electrified and have regular service.

The whole NJT system was originally supposed to be Electrified , but that was canceled due to costs. However they are ordering DMU's to replace the push-pulls. What would electrification really do for the line , shave off 10 mins? Its a very curvy line unlike the Main line or even Bergen County line....and you have to merge a few times very slowly.

[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...NewsCollection

Jets, Giants Sue Over Mall Near Stadium





May 30, 2013
By HEATHER HADDON

The New York Jets and Giants sued Thursday to block the further development of a shopping and theme-park complex adjacent to MetLife Stadium, saying its owners hadn't negotiated in good faith on issues of traffic and whether the complex could operate on Sundays.

"We have bent over backwards to try to accommodate this project because the governor has stated how important it is to him and to the state," said John Mara, co-owner of the Giants, speaking alongside Jets owner Woody Johnson during a 30-minute interview Thursday.

The men were making their first joint comments on the American Dream complex, which would consist of a mall once known as Xanadu, as yet unfinished, and a newly proposed 639,000-square-foot indoor theme and water park.

The National Football League teams argue that the complex's vehicle traffic would cause unbearable congestion for their fans. The team owners also want the bulk of the complex to be shut down on the roughly 16 Sundays when they play at home a year, a limit on the cars visiting the complex on those football Sundays and a traffic-management plan.

The project's new developers—Triple Five of Edmonton, Canada—don't want to close on Sundays, arguing it would undercut their business. Bergen County's blue laws forbid shopping on Sunday, but the proposed theme park could operate on that day.

"We cannot interrupt service to our entertainment patrons at the time when they most want to visit," said Alan Marcus, a spokesman for Triple Five. Sundays are key days for tourists and families who will potentially visit the complex, he said.

The teams signed off on the original Xanadu complex in 2006 before building the MetLife Stadium. If they had known the mall would expand to include the entertainment wing, they would have had "second thoughts" about building the new stadium there, said Mr. Johnson.

"We probably wouldn't have built this stadium if we had known that they would build something across the street that would flood the roads with traffic and make it impossible for our fans to get to the game," he said.

[NYC4Life]

What a disaster this development has been. While I believe this section of the Meadowlands could use more development, The Xanadu is possibly the worst type of idea and too close to the sports complex. Not to forget none of it has come to fruition.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by NYC4Life

What a disaster this development has been. While I believe this section of the Meadowlands could use more development, The Xanadu is possibly the worst type of idea and too close to the sports complex. Not to forget none of it has come to fruition.

The mall/entertainment complex is actually a much better idea than the stadium. It will provide 7-day-a-week activity, and real economic development (tourism and the like) rather than just a limited number of events over at Giants Stadium.

The traffic concerns are bogus. There's a (very expensive) new rail line direct to the Meadowlands, and light rail is coming eventually. If they're really so concerned about congestion, then how about working with the state to advance additional transit improvements.

Too bad the Giants/Jets won't play nice.

[Renton]

Originally Posted by NYC4Life

What a disaster this development has been. While I believe this section of the Meadowlands could use more development, The Xanadu is possibly the worst type of idea and too close to the sports complex. Not to forget none of it has come to fruition.

You have more than just the football games. Concerts, circus, whatever else they hold at the Meadowlands. The Giants and Jets have every right to block this mess.

[Hamilton]

This section of the Meadowlands could use LESS development. They never should've paved over marshes for this abomination.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Crawford

light rail is coming eventually. If they're really so concerned about congestion, then how about working with the state to advance additional transit improvements.

LOL not while Christie is governor...

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

all of our plans have stalled and not due to the Governor which supports the other projects but due to NJT's incompetence.

Untrue. You realize Christie has cut hundreds of millions from NJTransit, right? But he's expert at playing the blame game. He's learned that if he screams loudly and emotionally enough, he can get the public to pin the blame on anyone other than himself.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

LOL not while Christie is governor...



Untrue. You realize Christie has cut hundreds of millions from NJTransit, right? But he's expert at playing the blame game. He's learned that if he screams loudly and emotionally enough, he can get the public to pin the blame on anyone other than himself.

He did restore what he cut , so it is NJT incompetence....which goes back 15 years...the whole top level sections of NJT need to be fired... Same with the LIRR and MTA a house cleaning is needed....

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/ny...soon.html?_r=0

Work Is to Begin Soon on a Failed Meadowlands Mall






By CHARLES V. BAGLI
June 9, 2013

The empty shell of the enormous retail and entertainment complex in the New Jersey Meadowlands, formerly known as Xanadu, has served as a daily reminder of how outsize ambitions made it one of the most notorious examples of the real estate collapse. Now, a new developer says the former Xanadu project is about to become a testament to the rebounding market.

Triple Five Worldwide, the company chosen more than two years ago by Gov. Chris Christie to revive the project, says it plans to resume construction in the coming weeks, more than four years after work stopped.

The company, a conglomerate based in Canada that owns two of the world’s largest malls, plans to spend $1.7 billion, on top of the $1.9 billion spent by two previous developers.

“Our intent is to start shortly,” said Tony Armlin, vice president for development construction at Triple Five. “We’ve never wavered in our intent to move forward. This is a great project.”

The current vision for the project is even bigger than the initial conception that failed so incredibly. It now has approvals to add an exotic glass-domed water park and an amusement park inspired by DreamWorks Animation — in addition to the performing arts center, indoor ski hill, movie theater, 400 shops and more than 50 restaurants already planned for what they call American Dream Meadowlands.

But the hundreds of thousands of drivers who pass the derelict structure during every rush hour might be forgiven for their skepticism. After all, highly publicized starting dates have flown by like exit ramps on the Garden State Parkway with little to show for it.

Most recently Governor Christie, who has promoted the project politically and financially, promised that it would be open by the time the area welcomes visitors to the 2014 Super Bowl, a date the company has acknowledged it will not meet.

That is why Triple Five has pushed to expand the project on an adjoining wetland parcel with an enclosed water park and, in partnership with DreamWorks, an amusement park based on Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and other animated movie characters. “They had omitted one key feature: the amusements necessary to becoming a true tourist destination,” he said.

Triple Five, which is owned by the Ghermezian family, envisions American Dream as a sister complex to the Mall of America in Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.

But the Giants and the Jets want the amusement and water parks closed on game days, arguing that the crowds will wreak havoc. Their lease has what is effectively a veto over any expansion of the original mall. “Our endgame is not to kill the project,” said Mr. Mara of the Giants. “It’s to protect our core business.”

Triple Five contends that highway improvements and mass transit connections surrounding the stadium and the adjacent mall, racetrack and arena will make the impact negligible.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

He did restore what he cut , so it is NJT incompetence....which goes back 15 years...the whole top level sections of NJT need to be fired... Same with the LIRR and MTA a house cleaning is needed....

That's just not true...he's still playing shenanigans with the NJ Transit budget, and has funding on life support. He's burdening the agency with debt that won't have to be addressed until after his presidential run when he'll be long gone.

http://blog.tstc.org/2013/03/06/new-...al-fund-holes/

[chris08876]

Wouldn't this mall or complex eclipse the Mall of America in terms of being the largest in the country?

[NYguy]

Anthony Quintano

[drumz0rz]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

The whole NJT system was originally supposed to be Electrified , but that was canceled due to costs. However they are ordering DMU's to replace the push-pulls. What would electrification really do for the line , shave off 10 mins? Its a very curvy line unlike the Main line or even Bergen County line....and you have to merge a few times very slowly.

Electrification would eliminate the diesel locomotives. That would cut fuel costs entirely (and be better for the environment), greatly reduce maintenance costs (multiple-unit electromotive cars rarely breakdown and have far less serviceable parts), and allow for longer trains with more passenger space (by replacing the locomotive with a passenger cab car).

Long term, electrification brings more reliable service at a lower operating cost (better efficiency overall) but of course requires a substantial initial capital investment. Budget strapped agencies looking to cut their immediate bottom line often fail to realize long term gains and often opt for short term cost reduction (investing in more dual-mode locomotives instead, which are notorious for requiring more frequent service).

[CalibratedZeus]

Some good news finally here, a new labor agreement was signed today, the lawsuits have all been dropped, and looks like this will finally be finished (they say by 2016).

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf...m_project.html


americandream by calibratedzeus, on Flickr

It has been more than a decade in the making, taken hundreds of millions of dollars in state-issued incentives and endured a two-year-long court battle, but officials said yesterday that completion of a long-stalled retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands was headed to the final stretch.

"One of the first projects is going to be getting that ugly outside of the building the hell off of this building," Christie told an audience of about 200 union workers.

[chris08876]

I believe this is suppose to be the largest mall in the U.S.. once finished. I do know that Miami is expanding one of its malls so that it would become the 2nd largest in the nation, right near the Mall of America, but Xanadu is suppose to eclipse the Mall of America in terms of square footage.

[chris08876]

Next step for American Dream mall: exterior makeover

As the American Dream mall in East Rutherford finally appears headed for completion, Governor Chris Christie and developer Triple Five said the next order of business will be to strip the structure of its orange and blue exterior and give it a new facade.

According to a report by the Star-Ledger, Edmonton-based Triple Five plans to begin that process, “over the next few weeks,” and expects to open by fall 2016. Instead of the current colored walls, Triple Five said the new exterior will have, “A lot of glass, really clean and exquisite,” the report said.
The Bergen Record added that this may not be the end of development at the site. Jim Kirkos, the president of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, was quoted by the Record saying that he expects more building there, such as a, “convention center or other venue.”

==============================================
Apr 29, 2014
http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/n...-exterior.html

[Rail>Auto]

How is the IZOD Center holding up around the complex with both the mall being down and the Prudential Center being open? I hope it survives.