American Dream Wants Your Ideas On New Ski Slope Design

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – A series of workshops are planned across the tri-state area to get public input on how to best cover up the pattern on the indoor ski slope's exterior at American Dream.

The $5 billion mega-mall is slated to open Oct. 25 and will contain more than 450 retail, food and specialty stores and more than a dozen entertainment venues, such as indoor amusement and water parks, an aquarium, a performing arts theater and an ice rink.

It'll also feature the first indoor ski slope in North America, whose multicolored, multi-patterned exterior, is a throwback to more than a decade ago, when the mall project was known as Meadowlands Xanadu.

Back then, when the entire building was covered in the colorfully, gaudy pattern, it drew criticism as an eyesore from commuters on nearby Route 3 and the New Jersey Turnpike, locals and even officials. In 2011, former Gov. Christie famously referred to the development as "the ugliest damn building in New Jersey, and maybe America."

After acquiring the mall project, Triple Five said the exterior would be repainted in a new color scheme.

The developer now hopes to get feedback on how to redo the ski slope's exterior.

The mall’s developer has brought in En Masse, a group of Canadian artists who work on large public art projects, to create a large mural.

Prior to starting work next spring, about 20 workshops will be held in New Jersey and New York to gather ideas that can be incorporated into a final design concept. The mural should take about three months to complete, NorthJersey.com reported.

The second of two workshops will be held Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Williams Carlos Williams Center in Rutherford.

Jason Botkin of En Masse said, "Our main workshop series will run a much deeper and wider course over the winter, beginning in the early new year."

Additional information on other workshop dates will be announced in coming weeks, Dana McHugh, a spokeswoman for American Dream said.

When American Dream opens, the 3-million square foot mall will contain more than two-dozen restaurants, a Coca-Cola-branded food court and three food halls, giving patrons altogether more than 100 options for dining.

A few highlights include: Nickelodeon Universe theme park with the steepest roller coaster in the world, the first indoor ski and snowboard park in the Western Hemisphere, and first Sea Life Aquarium in New Jersey with a walk-through, saltwater tunnel.

It was originally slated to open in 2017, but Triple Five pushed back the completion date due to difficulties it faced securing the financing.