Xanadu Becomes the American Dream

(Images above from Triple Five)

(Image showing current state of project via Bing Maps)

Xanadu, the long stalled mega mixed-use development in the Meadowlands has been revived and will start construction in the coming months.  The project was originally envisioned by the now defunct Mills Corp, which ran into financial challenges during the economic collapse.  The property then passed to Colony Capital where they also were challenged with keeping the project afloat.  The project sat dormant for several years until a deal was struck last year with TripleFive, the owner of the Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.

Renamed American Dream as part of Triple Five’s new vision of the property, the complex will be a mix of retail and entertainment with attractions including an indoor ski hill (first in North America) that will also have a professional ski school, extreme snowboarding park and snow 365 days per year.  Other attractions include a glass-domed indoor amusement park, water park with surfing, state-of-the-art movie complex, live music and performing arts theater, 200 foot diameter enclosed capsule observation wheel, indoor skating rink, bowling alley and aquarium, miniature golf course, children’s museum, daycare facilities, and dozens of eating options including international gourmet cuisine.

The project is one of the largest in the country with over 1.7 million sf of retail, 1.1 million sf of attractions and 150,000 sf of restaurants.  Future plans call for the complex to eventually hit 7.5 million sf, which will make it the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the world.  The project, expected to cost over $3.7 billion has projections of 55 million annual visits.

It Takes a Village: Teachers Village

(All Images © Richard Meier and Partners)

We have highlighted mixed-use developments that focus on the Creative Class (Creating a Creative Village for the Creative Class) in Orlando, Florida and a Medical Village (Union Village, $1.5 Billion for Retail Medical Mixed-Use) in Henderson, Nevada.  Not to be outdone – Newark broke ground this month on Teachers Village – a mega mixed-use complex of education facilities, housing, retail, and restaurants.

(Approximate Project Area)

The project will consist of 8 building in all and include three charter schools, a daycare center, 200 plus apartments for teachers, and 70,000 sf of retail and restaurant space.  The $150 million project will encompass 4 blocks of downtown Newark.  Leading the development is RBH Group with design by world renowned architect and New Jersey native RichardMeier and Partners Architects with KSS Architects and Mikeselland Associates.

Mixed-Use Development? How about a Mixed-Use City!

(Images from Bizjournals)

Steinberg Architects, a California based firm with an international office in Shanghai has been awarded an astonishing 75 million sf project in Changsha, China.

Although considered a mixed-use project, that would be a major understatement.  What Steinberg will be creating is nothing short of a city that will transform 7,000 acres into a new home for thousands of homes and businesses along the Xiang River.

As reported by Bizjournals, the project will be known as Changsha Songya Hu, and will consist of:

            ~ 63 million sf of residential

            ~ 5.5 million sf of office space

            ~ 4 million sf of commercial space

            ~ 1 million sf of hotel space

            ~ 1.5 million sf of community space

Other amenities included in the project are a waterfront business district and an entertainment district.

DC Introduces The Yards

(All Images above from The Yards website)

The Capital Riverfront district is a 500 acre area south of the United States Capitol on the Anacostia River that includes the Nationals Park (baseball) and the Washington Navy Yard.  Forty-Two acres of these post industrial parcels will be transformed into a mixed-use waterfront development called The Yards in the coming months and years.

The area The Yards inhabits was formerly known as the Navy Yard Annex as it sits adjacent to the Washington Navy Yard.  It has had many uses since its founding in 1799 including the original port of the U.S. Navy, a wharf where many ships delivered raw materials, light industrial business, as well as playing key roles in the British, Spanish-American, and both World Wars.  The multitude of buildings including warehouses, manufacturing, as well as many other buildings that have historic significance will be renovated for housing, retail, office, and entertainment venues.

2012 Olympics, of Retail Development: Westfield Stratford City is Off to a Fast Start

(All Images Above from Westfield's Website)

Aside from thousands of athletes and visitors, the Olympics bring unprecedented development to the host city. Sports venues, the Olympic Village, infrastructure and transportation improvements are planned years in advance and begin to take shape as the opening day draws near. 

To capitalize on the millions of visitors and the international spotlight the Olympics generate, developers have been equally busy planning and building retail developments to serve those visitors and claim a piece of the economic pie. Visa, in its London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Expenditure and Economic Impact report estimates that the 2012 Olympics could generate in excess of $1 Billion in additional consumer spending and those dollars, pounds, euros, and countless other currencies will be spent lodging, shopping and eating in these strategically placed developments.