(25 Oct 2019) More than two decades ago when a mega entertainment and shopping complex was being conceived on a vast swath of swamp land in New Jersey, the iPhone didn't exist, Amazon was only selling books online and malls were where you went for all your shopping needs.
Now, after endless fits and starts and billions of dollars spent, American Dream is officially opening its doors to the public as the second largest mall in the country, and third largest in North America.
It will showcase three million square feet of leasable space dedicated to more than a dozen entertainment attractions like a 16-story indoor ski slope, rollercoaster, waterpark and eventually 450 retail, food and specialty shops.
The big question is: Who will come?
In today's retail landscape, consumers are glued to their iPhones and smartphones, where they can do their shopping without ever leaving their couch. Amazon has morphed into the biggest online retailer in the world.
And overall traffic at malls, which had been on the rise in the late 1990s, has declined 10% since, according to an estimate by Coresight Research.
A report from Credit Suisse published two years ago predicted that up to a quarter of the shopping malls will close by 2022 given the increasing popularity of online shopping and a rash of store closings.
Since 2015, only nine malls have been built, a dramatic fall from their peak construction in 1973 of 43, according to CoStar Group, a real estate research firm.
Amid that new reality, American Dream is looking to draw 40 million visitors in its first year, with entertainment accounting for more than half of its space
Triple Five, the mall's developer, reimagined American Dream as a community hub for tourists and locals, taking a page from two other malls it had developed: West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada and Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota — the two largest malls in North America.
Entertainment was a big selling point for both, accounting for 20% of the West Edmonton Mall's space and 30% of Mall of America's. That compares with the 6% average for U.S. malls, according to CoStar.
Don Ghermezian, CEO of American Dream and president of Triple Five, said that when taking over the site, he realized what was going to happen in retailing and knew he needed to make an even bigger statement with American Dream.
"Well, right now, as you may know, we have two of the top 10 grossing centers in North America. We position this project to surpass both of those and absolutely 100 percent believe that it would be the highest grossing center in North America. Both from a sales per square foot basis as far as the tenants go and also in terms of all the entertainment component that we've put together," said Ghermezian.
There will also be such amenities as a doggy day care and a luxury wing, where shoppers can sip champagne and sample caviar as they wait to have their designer handbags wrapped.
Two hotels with a total of 3,500 rooms are being planned next to the complex.
During the grand opening Friday, the smell of saw dust and sound of electric drills served as a reminder that the American Dream is still a work in progress.
Only certain sections were accessible to shoppers and the mall won't be fully operational until next spring.
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