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The largest mall in America is getting closer to approval in Northwest Miami-Dade


May 07, 2018

BY DOUGLAS HANKS

Read More: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...210642844.html

The largest mall in America moved closer to winning a key approval in Miami-Dade on Monday, as a county planning board gave a thumbs up to a $4 billion retail theme park that expects 30 million visitors a year. American Dream Miami promotes itself as a local alternative to Disney World, and a shopping and entertainment destination spanning more than 6 million square feet and large enough to employ 14,000 people once it opens.

- The project by Triple Five, the Canada-based developer of Minnesota's Mall of America, also expects to generate roughly 100,000 vehicle trips per day to a 175-acre triangle of wetlands and pastures where I-75 meets Florida's Turnpike. Environmental advocates warn of runaway development in a sensitive area, and residents say they're already plagued by traffic and don't want to endure the gridlock that would come from Miami-Dade's largest tourist attraction. --- The advisory board granted near unanimous approval of the American Dream development agreement negotiated by the administration of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. That clears the way for the County Commission to take its final vote on the project next week, on Thursday, May 17.

- Owners of some of Miami-Dade's largest malls are trying to block the venture. While the group — backed by the owners of Dolphin Mall, Bayside Marketplace and other large retailers — privately assumes easy passage of the needed changes to the county's master development plan and zoning designations next week, its members are hoping to impose restrictions that might make it harder for Triple Five to actually build the project. The main effort centers on Miami-Dade imposing a requirement in the agreement that Triple Five not accept government subsidies for the project. That tactic may require persuading county commissioners to ignore their lawyers. On Monday, assistant county attorney Dennis Kerbel said he didn't think it was legal to insert a funding component into a land-use matter.

- The vast majority of American Dream visitors would arrive by car, and Miami-Dade's Metrorail system does not have a stop within five miles of the project. Triple Five has agreed to build a bus depot on the project and buy new buses to extend several county routes into the mega-mall. Transit service was a sticking point, with the county writing in April that Triple Five's transit plans "primarily serve the needs of visitors and tourists" but not workers and residents. --- "Because this mall will be the largest self-contained shopping/entertainment experience in the United States, it is imperative that careful consideration is given when planning the future transit service," Albert Hernandez, an assistant director for planning at the county's Transportation department, wrote in the April 14 memo.

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