American Dream to Get Fashionable New Tenant

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

A rendering of the interior flower court in American Dream in Bergen County, N.J.

The American Dream is taking shape. Triple Five Group of Cos., developer of the 3 million-square-foot shopping and entertainment development sprouting up at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in Bergen County, N.J., has secured a commitment from European fashion retailer Primark to open a 100,000-square-foot store at the property.

Triple Five, owner of the two largest shopping and entertainment centers in North America, Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall, was brought on to revive construction on the long-standing American Dream project. The development is planned to open the development in 2017 and will feature ares like The Collections, with 460,000-square-foot of luxury and fashion retailers, and The Dining Terrace, with 15 full-service restaurants.

For Primark, taking a spot at the multi-billion-dollar development marks a first step in the popular clothing and home goods retailer’s plan for the opening of six locations in the U.S. this year, with this store being its first location in northern New Jersey. “Showcasing Primark, a relevant and unique fashion retailer with a vast assortment of fast and mainstream fashion, helps us to continue to deliver on our promise to build the world’s greatest shopping, entertainment and dining destination,” said Don Ghermezian, president of Triple Five.

Primark will be in good company at American Dream. In October 2015, Triple Five revealed that Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor would serve as anchor tenants, occupying 131,900 square feet and 119,600 square feet, respectively, in the property’s The Collections area. Upscale fashion accessories store Hermès, which signed on for 8,000 square feet in September 2015, will also be a neighbor. And the list just keeps growing.

American Dream will ultimately feature 450 retail, food and specialty shops, and such head-turning extras as the DreamWorks Water Park; a 285-foot-tall Observation Wheel; a 70,000-square-foot Sea Life Aquarium & Lego Discovery Center; a 16-story Big Snow Indoor Ski & Snow Park; and a 1,400-seat Cinemex luxury dine-in movie theater, which was also announced last fall.

Primark will make its debut with the grand opening of American Dream in 2017.