Checkout

American Dream Opens Today, and What a Wild Ride It’s Been

From N.J.’s ‘ugliest damn building’ to ‘contemporary, pristine,’ investors have made a $5 billion entertainment and retail bet.

Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park opened on Oct. 25 at American Dream. — Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park opened on Oct. 25 at American Dream.
Source: American Dream

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Elise Young

October 25, 2019 at 3:34 PM UTC

Updated on

October 25, 2019 at 4:44 PM UTC

More than 17 years after developers began boasting about world-class retail and entertainment just eight miles west of Manhattan, parts of the American Dream mega-mall opened Friday in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.

But the retail side still isn’t ready. Neither is dining. Nothing about this complex—not the design, not the financing, not even the opening—has worked according to plan.