Mega mall American Dream is shifting course slightly as it bets on entertainment to bring in the crowds.
The long-delayed three million square feet mega-centre in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was slated to feature a mix of entertainment-related tenants (55 per cent) and retailers (45 per cent) when fully opened. (The retail component, or at least the first wave, was expected to open in March, but the centre closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic). But the tenant offering will now be more heavily weighted towards entertainment, which will represent 70 per cent of the tenant base, developer Triple Five Group told CNBC.
“We are going to come out of this super strong … really strong on the entertainment side,” Don Ghermezian, Co-CEO of American Dream, told CNBC in an interview. “I think when [coronavirus] is over, people will be so stir crazy. Initially there will be some trepidation … but I think we are going to have so many people.”
To date, the only attractions that opened at American Dream before it closed for the pandemic were a Nickelodeon theme park, an ice-skating rink and an indoor snow park. Only one store, It’Sugar, had opened.
