Nation’s Largest Shopping-Entertainment Complex Planned for Miami: While it will be some four years before the project comes to fruition, the sheer magnitude of American Dream Miami—a massive development that will have 3 million square feet of retail space, 2 million square feet for entertainment facilities and 2,000 hotel rooms—warrants intense news coverage with every announcement of its progress. American Dream Miami will be situated in Northwest Miami near the point at which Interstate Route 75 intersects with the Florida Turnpike, and is expected to generate 103,000 to 127,000 vehicular trips each day. The development will be the largest of its kind in North America. “Largest” is a description not unknown to its developers, the Triple Five Group (The company is closely held, owned and operated by the Ghermezian family of Canada) which also operates the West Edmonton Mall and the Mall of America, as well as another American Dream project in northern New Jersey.
Robert Gorlow, head of Florida operations for the Triple Five Group, revealed new details about the massive American Dream Miami mall and theme park project during a recent meeting with the South Florida Regional Planning Council. Highlights of his presentation included the following:
- American Dream Miami would have over 3 million square feet of retail, about 2 million square feet of entertainment and 2,000 hotel rooms. The retail mix will be similar to that of Mall of America.
- The entertainment component will include a theme park, the world’s largest indoor ski slope measuring 180,000 square feet, 800 feet long and 16 stories high plus an ice climbing wall, a water park, a giant observation wheel, a submarine lake with marine life such as sharks and manta rays, an Art Deco village with performance halls and a 3,000-seat movie theater, an ice skating rink, a museum, bowling, and mini golf.
Cold War Relic Could be New Travel Attraction in Wyoming
Following a public meeting in Cheyenne during which state officials discussed their agreement with the U.S. Air Force to turn a Cold War-era missile alert facility into a tourist attraction, the project seems on its way to fruition. The site is located about 25 miles north of Cheyenne, which is the state’s capital. Staff from the Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails staff used the occasion of the meeting to provide an update on the Quebec-1 Missile Alert Facility. The state and F.E. Warren Air Force Base signed an agreement earlier in October that paved the way for the building to be turned into an interpretive museum and historical site. The 5-acre facility built in 1962 was used by airmen who monitored nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. It was deactivated in 2005 and military officials initially planned to demolish it. The legislation that enabled the leasing of the site by the state specifically called for the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources to “operate the facility as a tourist attraction.”