ENR reports that the American Dream Mall (formerly Xanadu Mall) project may restart within a month.  Begun 10 years ago, the North Jersey shopping mall Xanadu got caught in the Great Recession. As the whimsically designed Meadowlands mall was being built in 2008, the economy sputtered. The project developers got worried and cut costs, producing what Gov. Chris Christie called, “the ugliest damn building in New Jersey and maybe America.” The photo below indicates the lack of overstatement.

For the last couple years, Triple Five Developers (owner of the Mall of America in MN), have been parlaying with NJ state officials over the financing package. The two previous developers have reportedly lost $2B US on the project and Triple Five estimates another $1.8B required to complete their new design (shown below).

In the current financing package, Triple Five puts in $200 million in equity, borrows 800 million from the private sector and $800 million via two public entities. The public sector loans would be repaid with future payments in lieu of taxes paid to East Rutherford by the developer. So it’s really more of a grant than a loan, since the taxes would have to be paid otherwise.

Gov Christie won the endorsement of the laborers union for his reelection and last month told them that they would be working on the project by January 2013. I wonder if this means he’s agreed to a Project Labor Agreement that stipulates all the work will be done by union forces?