The American Dream Miami is on track to become a reality in Miami-Dade County, and tourism officials there and elsewhere in South Florida should be ecstatic.
The $3 billion mega-mall, which is slated to sit at the crossroads of Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike, is being built by the Ghermezian family, which has built and owns the two largest malls in North America, West Edmonton Mall in Canada and Mall of America in Minnesota.
With those two malls a booming success, Triple Five Group, the Canadian real estate company the Ghermezian family owns, has plenty of history and knowledge about building mega shopping palaces. But one thing that has eluded Triple Five is the fact that they don’t have a presence in a huge market that draws in scores of tourists, which the company aims to change with American Dream Miami.
With this project, the company is banking on the hope of a win-win scenario for all those involved. For Triple Five, they will finally have one of their “retail-tainment” properties in a tourist hot spot, and for South Florida, the region will finally have a family entertainment component that, if done right, can compete head-to-head with the theme parks of Orlando.
As with a project of this magnitude, there is some opposition to American Dream Miami, mainly from the homeowners that will be the closest to the project, who have complained about the additional strain traffic going to and from the mall will have on area roads, and established shopping centers who say that the mall will have a negative impact on their properties.
The former is understandable, but the latter’s opposition is truly puzzling. If anything, American Dream Miami will make those malls more competitive and will force them to expand their options instead of sitting on their laurels.
American Dream Miami is a winning scenario for South Florida. Though their tourism industry is robust, with world class restaurants, shopping, and nightlife, it needs an entertainment component that will not only draw more shoppers but families to the area as well.
Source: Fansided
