American Dream Meadowlands

American Dream Meadowlands is a retail and entertainment complex under construction in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey that will contain over 500 stores. It was first proposed in 2003 by the Mills Corporation as the Meadowlands Xanadu. After the bankruptcy of that company in 2007, the project was taken over by Colony Capital. In May 2009, construction stalled due to the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. The Triple Five Group announced intent to take over the mall in May 2011, and on July 31, 2013, officially gained control of the mall and the surrounding site.After a series of hand-offs, financing issues, construction delays, and legal challenges, construction stopped again in December, 2016. In July 2017, construction had resumed, with new financing secured, and plans to open in March 2019.HistoryThe project started in July 2002 with a request for proposal issued by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority for a project to be built adjacent to the (then-named) Continental Airlines Arena. In February 2003, the authority's board chose a joint venture between the former Mills Corporation and the Mack-Cali realty corporation, in partnership with the Sports Complex's owner, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. The project was selected over alternatives proposed by Westfield and Hartz Mountain Industries.