American Dream's Ski Slope Pattern Is Getting A Makeover

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – A 60,000 square-foot hand-painted mural will soon cover the pattern on the indoor ski slope’s exterior at American Dream.

The black-and-white collage will be composed of images gathered from a series of community workshops, as well as artist submissions, and will highlight the various interpretations of the “American Dream,” mall officials announced Monday.

American Dream has brought in En Masse, a group of Canadian artists who work on large public art projects, to redo the ski slope’s exterior.

En Masse is currently hand-painting the first 10,000-square-foot portion of the ski hill and the mural is expected to be complete by next summer, mall officials said.

Jason Botkin, En Masse’s director, said, “This is the largest and most challenging project we have worked on to date.”

“American Dream’s decision to host this project has been an exceptional and rare opportunity. Their trust has opened the doors wide to the broadest possible manifestation of our core mandate, designed to explore shared creativity and the building of strong communities through communication,” Botkin said.

The mall's grand opening is scheduled for Oct. 25, however, shopping, dining and attractions at the $5 billion complex will open in four phases.

During the initial opening, Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park and The Rink will be open. The DreamWorks Water Park is set to open Nov. 27, followed by Big SNOW, the country's only indoor real-snow park, on Dec. 5. By March 2020, the mall's 350 retail stores will be open for business.

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.

AMERICAN DREAM: NJ Transit Seeks Ideas To Transport Shoppers

AMERICAN DREAM: Transit Options: By Land, Air And Sea

AMERICAN DREAM: What Will Actually Be Open On Oct. 25?

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.

According to mall officials, additional community workshops regarding the mural will be announced later this year. For updates on workshops and how to submit ideas for the mural, visit americandream.com or check the mall out on Instagram @americandream.

Don Ghermezian, CEO, American Dream, said, “Diversity and community are two guiding principles behind American Dream. This is a monumental project that will be created by and for the local community and we are thrilled to be working with Jason and his team on this larger than life, completely unique art project.”

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.