Are we getting a ginormous mall with a ski slope? What to know about American Dream Miami

Howard Cohen
·4 min read
10

The vision: Build the largest mall in the country in Northwest Miami-Dade.

The reality: It’s harder than you think.

The American Dream Miami retail theme park mall, announced in 2015, is still on the drawing board. Developers thought it would be open by 2020 and employ 5,000 people by 2025. Ground hasn’t been broken yet.

Here’s what to know about the project:

A rendition of the American Dream Miami by Triple Five. The American Dream Miami mega-mall received the initial go-ahead from Miami-Dade commissioners in May 2018. Triple Five
A rendition of the American Dream Miami by Triple Five. The American Dream Miami mega-mall received the initial go-ahead from Miami-Dade commissioners in May 2018. Triple Five

What is the American Dream Miami?

READ MORE: Nation’s largest mall wins Miami-Dade approval as county backs American Dream Miami

Profile: When the developer won approval from Miami-Dade in 2018, American Dream Miami proposed to open the biggest mall in America, dwarfing the current giant, Minnesota’s Mall of America, by some 400,000 square feet. American Dream Miami would be six million square feet and include a mix of stores and restaurants with entertainment lures like an artificial indoor ski slope and a submarine lake. Then Miami-Dade mayor and now U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez negotiated the deal and told the Miami Herald in 2018: “This is the biggest project we’ve ever had in Miami-Dade County.”

Shops in the proposed American Dream Miami entertainment complex surround an indoors ice-skating rink in this artist’s rendering from developer Triple Five’s proposal. Slated to rise in Northwest Miami-Dade, the 175-acre complex would be the largest mall in the United States. Triple Five
Shops in the proposed American Dream Miami entertainment complex surround an indoors ice-skating rink in this artist’s rendering from developer Triple Five’s proposal. Slated to rise in Northwest Miami-Dade, the 175-acre complex would be the largest mall in the United States. Triple Five

Where would the mall be built?

Location site plans: The American Dream Miami mall would be built on 175 acres of undeveloped land in Northwest Miami-Dade where Interstate 75 meets Florida’s Turnpike. The land is west of Miami Lakes and north of Hialeah. That location would put the attraction about midway between Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise to the north and the Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater to the south.

Who’s behind the mall plans?

▪ Developer: Triple Five, owner of Minnesota’s 5.6 million-square-foot Mall of America, named the largest mall in America and opened in 1992, is the family-owned developer driving American Dream Miami. Mall of America boasts more than 500 stores, a golf course and a Dreamworks Water Park.

▪ Family background: Headquartered in Canada and owned by the Persian Jewish Ghermezian family, Triple Five also owns the second largest mall in the U.S., the American Dream Meadowlands project in New Jersey, a 3.5-million-square-foot complex in the New York suburb of East Rutherford. That mall has an indoor ski slope, a Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park and more than 450 stores.

An artist’s rendering of a ski slope planned for a corner American Dream Miami, a 175-acre entertainment and retail complex planned for Northwest Miami-Dade County. Proposed by the company behind Minnesota’s Mall of America, it’s described as big enough to qualify as the largest mall in the United States. Triple Five
An artist’s rendering of a ski slope planned for a corner American Dream Miami, a 175-acre entertainment and retail complex planned for Northwest Miami-Dade County. Proposed by the company behind Minnesota’s Mall of America, it’s described as big enough to qualify as the largest mall in the United States. Triple Five

What is the status of the Miami mall project?

READ MORE: America’s largest mall has been stalled for years. Could Miami-Dade help revive it?

▪ Delays for developers: Crews haven’t yet broken ground despite having final construction plans approved by the county in 2018 for the then-proposed $4 billion project.

▪ Existing ban: Developers are asking Miami-Dade County to lift an existing ban on government subsidies for the venture. Had things gone to plan the mega mall, or at least much of it, would have been open for about four years by now. But then COVID came, and other negotiating delays.

▪ Other malls’ concerns: A restriction from the original approval by the County Commission is a sticking point. Developers want Miami-Dade to lift a 2018 restriction that existing malls in the area — including the owners of Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami and Dolphin Mall — pushed to bar the use of county dollars to subsidize the project. The original agreement requires Triple Five to pay for road systems connecting the development’s property to main highways and thoroughfares, the Miami Herald has reported.

An artist’s rendering of the proposed American Dream Miami shopping theme park proposed for northwestern Miami-Dade, a $4 billion attraction by the company behind Minnesota’s Mall of America. Pictured are a roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and other carnival rides within the near 200-acre complex. Miami-Dade County
An artist’s rendering of the proposed American Dream Miami shopping theme park proposed for northwestern Miami-Dade, a $4 billion attraction by the company behind Minnesota’s Mall of America. Pictured are a roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and other carnival rides within the near 200-acre complex. Miami-Dade County

What is planned for the mall?

▪ Anchors: These amenities haven’t been named but there may be five anchors and other stores and restaurants among 3.5 million square feet devoted to retail.

▪ Lifestyle and entertainment spaces: Developers have also touted an entertainment complex and amusement theme park with a Ferris wheel and roller coasters.

▪ Snow in Miami! Plans include a water park, an indoor ski slope and ice rink to bring some much needed chill to steamy South Florida.

▪ Submarine rides, concerts and movies: An artificial lake would house submarines for rides, not unlike what Triple Five ran in its Deep Sea Adventure area at its West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, for 20 years through 2005. There may be three hotels with 1,600 rooms between them. A 1,000 seat live performance venue and a 1,400 seat movie theater have been cited on Construction Journal in March 2023.

Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.