Call it What You Will, its Still “Xanadu” to Us ….

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

East Rutherford  NJ,  according to Governor Phil Murphy the opening date for the American Dream Mall , originally projected for April, has been pushed back to at least late spring. “First of all, it’s happening. American Dream is happening,” Murphy said. “To the best of my knowledge, the last time I asked, it had slipped, I had thought, closer to June.” Murphy made these not-so-surprising remarks in a brief, one-minute response to a reporter’s question at an unrelated press conference at West Orange High School, where he was talking about school funding. He made the assertion based on his last conversations with the project’s representatives.

Up till now the massive 3.1 million square foot shopping and entertainment complex in East Rutherford is finally nearing completion and according leasing at American Dream the project was to open next month in April.

Governor Murphy touted the American Dream Investment in New Jersey’s Economy in August of 2018 saying,” Recognizing the economic significance of the American Dream project to the State and New Jersey’s working families, Governor Phil Murphy today visited with construction workers at the three million square foot entertainment, retail and dining complex. The Governor expressed his appreciation to the men and women of the building construction trades and the Bergen County Building & Construction Trades Council for their contributions to the growth and expansion of New Jersey’s economy.

“Our goal is to create good, new, sustainable jobs that can support a family and help them secure their place in New Jersey’s middle class,” said Governor Murphy. “A complex project like American Dream creates many jobs in many areas – long-term jobs that provide families with the opportunity to gain their own foothold in the economy and help it grow. Every group affiliated with this project can be proud of the part they have played in the reformation and rise of this vital economic investment in the Garden State.”

The important $5 billion project, which is being developed by Triple Five, will generate more than 23,000 jobs during its construction phase. Additionally, when completed, the project is estimated to create more than 16,000 permanent new jobs on site and over 6,700 jobs in the surrounding communities, totaling over $1.2 billion in annual compensation. Triple Five has completed over $2 billion of new construction to date and is on track for a 2019 opening.  

“On behalf of Triple Five, we’d like to thank Governor Murphy, our local and statewide representatives, and the Bergen County Building and Construction Trades for their exceptional hard work, dedication and commitment to the project. This unprecedented project will create tens of thousands of jobs, bring millions of tourists and billions of dollars in economic growth annually to Bergen County and the State of New Jersey, and would simply not be possible without the incredible contributions and effort of these men and women,” said Don Ghermezian, President, Triple Five.

American Dream is projected to generate over 40 million visits annually, drawing from a population of more than 19.5 million residents within a 50-mile radius and a tourism base of more than 65 million visitors that travel to the New York City Metropolitan area annually.

Its been over 16 years since Xanadu first hit the scene when state of New Jersey politicians thought that just what Bergen County needed was another shopping mall . The structure has long been the symbol of government waste and failure to get anything done ,except raise taxes. Environmentalist cringed at the thought of the giant mall asking , “but where is the water going to go? ” The mall has gone from one fiasco to the next and all the time New Jersey tax payers continue to dole out the cash.

16 years and three developers later, the long-time eyesore along the New Jersey Turnpike is hoping to turn its fate around with developer Triple Five at the helm The ill fated project is facing some serious headwinds in the era of Amazon shopping ,failing malls and declining brick and mortar retail. That’s not even taking into account how 40 million visitors are evening going to get there and Bergen County’s love affair with ‘Blue laws”.