Model of proposed East Rutherford, New Jersey mall, the American Dream
(Ilya Marritz / WNYC)
Jun 5, 2017 · by Ilya Marritz
The company behind American Dream, Triple Five of Canada, is detailing its vision for a mall-entertainment destination in the Meadowlands in New Jersey — and the hazards that could derail the project.
Since the concept of a shopping destination on state-owned marshland was first green-lit in 2003, the mall has encountered many problems. Two earlier developers gave up on the project, formerly known as “Xanadu.”
Now, Triple Five is looking to raise $2.8 billion to finance the final phases of construction. More than half of the funding will be arranged privately through J.P. Morgan Chase. The remaining $1.1 billion is expected to come from the sale of tax-free, unrated, government bonds.
For that bond sale, two preliminary offering memoranda are now in circulation: one is for an $800 million bond package backed by payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT); the other is for a $300 million bond package backed by sales tax receipts generated after American Dream opens. The bonds are being sold by the Public Finance Authority of Wisconsin, which is serving as a middleman between the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and investors.
The documents — over 1,800 pages of them — disclose a wide array of risks that potential investors will have to consider.
https://www.wnyc.org/story/tax-codes-traffic-megamalls-risks/
