Posted on 07/10/2014 12:44:05 AM PDT by WhiskeyX
Hundreds of shopping malls across the U.S. have been forced to shut down following years of debilitating declines in consumer traffic.
In many cases, the shuttered malls are left to decay for years before developers or local governments raise the funds to bulldoze or renovate the space.
Pseudonymous photographer Seph Lawless traveled the country for years to find these forgotten malls and document their decay from the inside.
The photos he captured are haunting and apocalyptic, featuring dead trees and abandoned shopping carts against landscapes of broken glass and crumbling walls.
He compiled the photographs in a new book, "Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall," and shared some of them with Business Insider.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
“I believe you are referring to the construction for its new role; the original construction was completed on the mall, and now they are looking to change it to another purpose.”
Such a belief is groundless and of no validity whatsoever. According to every report made in 2014 up to the current day the purpose of the project remains retail, entertainment, and tourism, which is also what the original project intended. The current project plans to have 400 retailers in this mall. See for one of many examples:
American Dream developers unveil long-awaited makeover, target 2016 opening
April 28, 2014, 8:10 AM Last updated: Tuesday, April 29, 2014, 1:56 PM
By John Brennan
Staff Writer
[excerpt]
Key components of American Dream Meadowlands, according to the project developer’s website and previous announcements this year: More than 400 retailers, restaurants, and services, including “global retail |influenced by high streets from Bond Street to La Rambla to Soho” 639,000-square-foot indoor amusement park and water park complex Indoor ski and snowboard park |12 stories high and 800 feet long Observation wheel similar to the |London Eye 200-foot “drop ride” similar to |bungee jumping Performing arts center that seats 2,400 to 3,000 National Hockey League-sized |ice rink 180,000-square-foot movie complex with more than 5,000 seats |(700 of them VIP) Aquarium featuring more than 10,000 “sea creatures” 18-hole miniature golf course -
Do you understand this mall was finished around five years ago, and has sat vacant ever since? Have you ever seen it? I’ve stood right outside it; the mall was finished (including indoor ski slope), and never opened. The ski slope itself is VERY visible from Route 3 right alongside the mall.
They are changing the purpose to get it opened as something else (more as entertainment instead of shopping center).
Sears had a huge variety of items for sale including houses.
“They are changing the purpose to get it opened as something else (more as entertainment instead of shopping center).”
Evidently that is all in your imagination.
The complex was always meant from the very beginning to provide extensive facilities for entertainment, sports, tourism, and business offices in addition to a large number of retail shopping stores. So, the fundamental purpose of the mall is the same today as it was in the beginning including all of the changes that have been made to date.
Your claim the retail shopping mall was finished years ago is nonsense, because: “Triple Five executive Tony Armlin said that steel for two new segments at the site, potentially designed for anchor retail tenants, would be shipped to the site within 60 days — with installation slated to start in midsummer.”
Your claim: “They are changing the purpose to get it opened as something else (more as entertainment instead of shopping center).” is nonsense because the project was from the first day in the beginning more about “entertainment”, “sports”, and “tourism” than it was about just the hundreds of retail shops. See: “will transform the Meadowlands into the country’s foremost destination for sports, entertainment, recreation and office facilities....”
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Dec. 3, 2003—
The Mills Corporation/Mack-Cali Realty Corporation project will transform the Meadowlands into the country’s foremost destination for sports, entertainment, recreation and office facilities
“Mack-Cali has a long history of developing premier office properties. We’re confident that the high-quality office space and state-of-the-art hotel and conference center that we will build at Xanadu will attract top-tier businesses to the Meadowlands, benefiting both the complex and the Northern New Jersey region.”
A joint venture between affiliates of The Mills Corporation (NYSE: MLS) and Mack-Cali Realty Corporation (NYSE: CLI) today signed an agreement with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) for the redevelopment of the Continental Airlines Arena site and the construction of Meadowlands Xanadu, the 4.76 million-square-foot family entertainment, office and hotel complex to be built at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
Work is to begin when all the necessary permits and approvals are obtained. The family entertainment component of Meadowlands Xanadu will open about two years after the groundbreaking. Meadowlands Xanadu will feature the nation’s first indoor Alpine ski resort and an indoor mini-Formula One style racing venue. Other planned uses include a minor-league baseball stadium, an extreme sports park, a grand movie palace and a small-format live entertainment venue. The Mills Corporation will lead the development of the family entertainment complex.
Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Laurence C. Siegel said, “Meadowlands Xanadu will set a new standard for bringing lifestyle, recreation, sports and family entertainment offerings together in one location. Our team is excited to create this innovative destination, integrated with dramatic architectural and design elements, which will capture visitors’ imaginations and sense of adventure.”
Mack-Cali Realty Corporation will be the lead developer for the 2.2 million-square-foot office and hotel component of the project. Mitchell E. Hersh, Chief Executive Officer of Mack-Cali, said, “Mack-Cali has a long history of developing premier office properties. We’re confident that the high-quality office space and state-of-the-art hotel and conference center that we will build at Xanadu will attract top-tier businesses to the Meadowlands, benefiting both the complex and the Northern New Jersey region.” The office and hotel components of the project will consist of four 14-story, 440,000 square-foot class A office buildings and a 520-room hotel with conference facilities.
Kan Am, a Munich-based investment advisory company, will be an investment partner of The Mills Corporation in the project. “Meadowlands Xanadu is the premier development project in the United States, and Kan Am is delighted to participate in this great investment opportunity,” said James C. Braithwaite, President, Kan Am U.S. Inc.
The Meadowlands Xanadu project is expected to generate 20,000 permanent jobs in New Jersey - translating into $1.24 billion in personal income annually - and 19,000 construction and related jobs - equal to $1.17 billion in annual personal income. The project is estimated to produce $133 million annually in state and local tax revenue.
The Mills/Mack-Cali joint venture will pay a $160 million development rights fee at the start of construction for the family entertainment component of the development, when all permits and approvals are obtained.
About The Mills Corporation
The Mills Corporation is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Arlington, Virginia, that owns, develops, leases, manages and markets a portfolio of 26 retail and entertainment destinations totaling approximately 33 million square feet. Currently, The Mills has seven projects under construction or development around the world. The Mills’ Internet address is www.millscorp.com.
About Mack-Cali
Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is a fully-integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) providing management, leasing, development, construction and other tenant-related services for its class A real estate portfolio. Mack-Cali, which has a total market capitalization of approximately $4.5 billion, owns or has interests in 264 properties, primarily office and office/flex buildings located in the Northeast, totaling approximately 28.3 million square feet. The properties enable the Company to provide a full complement of real estate opportunities to its diverse base of approximately 2,100 tenants. Additional information on Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is available on the Company’s Web site at www.mack-cali.com.
About Kan Am
Kan Am is a full-service investment advisory company founded in 1973. Its open-ended and close-ended funds manage over $5.5 billion in commercial real estate projects in the United States and Europe. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with offices in Frankfurt, Germany, and in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. Additional information on Kan Am is available on the Company’s Web site at www.kanam.de/.
Note to editors: Photos are available on the “Media” page of www.meadowlandsxanadu.com.
Statements in this press release that are not historical may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although the companies believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, the companies can give no assurance that their expectations will be attained and it is possible that actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks and uncertainties. The companies undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The reader is directed to the companies’ various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K for a discussion of such risks and uncertainties.
Contacts
The Mills Corporation
David Douglass, 703-526-5252
or
Mack-Cali Realty Corporation
Virginia Sobol, 908-272-800
I remember our politicians explaining that the lack of tourist shoppers from NYC had killed the original plan; as you see below, they are looking to get a casino there now. This was to be a shopping mall that provided entertainment (like Mall of America); now it will just be entertainment. Cabelas has moved on to a real mall that is open already.
“But as prominent a partner as any was Cabela’s, the hunting and fishing company that was slated to build a massive 187,000 square foot store at Xanadu. This was part of the controversial “entertainment-themed retail” that state officials said didn’t count as traditional shopping, in part because Cabela’s was to include a fishing pond as part of its offerings.(If you can stand to look at the color scheme of the current site, the hunter green segment of the former Xanadu site is where that Cabela’s store was supposed to be.)As late as 2009, Cabela’s was still in the mix – although executives with the publicly-traded company were less bullish on the opening date than the developer. By 2010, it was apparent that Cabela’s was out of the Xanadu business.Triple Five officials are mum on whether Cabela’s – or any other company – will be involved in the American Dream Meadowlands successor to Xanadu that is supposed to open in 2016.But in the meantime, Cabela’s has plans of its own in the region for 2016: the Nebraska-based company announced this week that it plans to break ground on a new, 90,000 square foot store adjacent to the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Mall. The opening would be in spring 2016.Coincidentally, that would leave the Cabela’s store there opening just a few months before a casino and hotel complex opens next door, should that Caesars-backed proposal get the go-ahead from New York State officials this fall.And if that casino is built, it may someday be in competition with a casino in the Meadowlands – one that would be built right near where the mega-Cabela’s was once supposed to open there. - See more at: http://blog.northjersey.com/meadowlandsmatters/8674/cabelas-once-a-meadowlands-xanadu-anchor-may-wind-up-next-to-orange-county-ny-casino-instead/#sthash.Z6YDo7wi.dpuf";
“This was to be a shopping mall that provided entertainment (like Mall of America); now it will just be entertainment.”
You’ve already been given links to the still current plan to have 400 retail stores in the project along with the entertainment, sports, and tourism attractions. So, your assertion “now it will just be entertainment” without the previously planned “shopping mall” constitutes a lie insofar as you refuse to acknowledge the planned 400 retail stores.
That's partly true, but I live near Framingham, MA, the mall capital of Massachusetts, and the malls and shopping strips cratered IMMEDIATELY after The Communist's election. The upscale mall, "The Natick Collection," changed its name to "The Natick Mall," at about the same time.
Business has yet to come back, despite the fact that the recession ended five years ago < snort>.
Good thing we’re in the midst of the Summer of Recovery.
I live five miles from here; I’ll let you know how it turns out.
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