Three dream tenants for American Dream project

The long-delayed, controversial American Dream retail-entertainment destination in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has snared three high-profile tenants.



Hudson's Bay Company announced that three of its store brands — a 131,906 sq. ft. Saks Fifth Avenue, a 119,605 sq. ft. Lord & Taylor, and a 30,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th — will be among the three million-sq.-ft. mega-center’s tenants. It is the first time Hudson’s Bay has housed all three of its U.S. banners in one location.



The stores are scheduled to open in late summer 2017, when American Dream officially opens. When completed, the center will house a mix of retail, restaurants and all manner of entertainment, ranging from an indoor ski slope and ice skating rink to a mini-golf course and performing arts theater. Developer Triple Five expects it to pull an estimated 40 million visitors annually.



The Saks and Lord & Taylor stores will be located within “The Collections” section of American Dream, which will be dedicated to luxury and lifestyle retailing. The Off 5th store will be located in the 3rd level off-price district.



“American Dream is one of the most unique projects in the world,” said Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of Hudson’s Bay. “It’s elevating the shopping center format to combine retail, dining, lifestyle and entertainment to create a total experiential destination.”



The American Dream center, formerly known as Xanadu, broke ground more than a decade ago, but its construction was never completed, delayed byvarious problems, including bankruptcies, lawsuits andfinancingdifficulties.



In 2011, Canadian developer Triple Five Group officially took over control of the project and rebranded it as American Dream. Triple Five’s shopping center portfolio includes the largest shopping center in North America, West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, and the largest U.S. center, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota.



Triple Five is alsolooking to build a mega-centerin the Miami-Dade area.



“American Dream welcomes Hudson’s Bay Company and is very excited to introduce the next generation of their state-of-the-art department stores to the NY Metropolitan market and the world. We believe this match will be an extraordinary success and our customers and visitors will be amazed at this new and unparalleled experience in fashion shopping.” Don Ghermezian, president, Triple Five.