In 2026, the city of Miami will open a new, futuristic shopping center called American Dream Miami, which will also have a theme park, an entertainment park and submarine rides. It will be the largest shopping center in North America and the sixth largest in the world.
The ambitious project, worth more than 4.000 billion dollars, also includes shops, a ski slope, a Cirque du Soleil theatre, underwater activities, a roller coaster, restaurants and even a 2.000-room hotel, which will undoubtedly create new jobs for the city's residents.
The construction work will be carried out by the Canadian company Triple Five, which will pay around 60 million dollars for the impact of the construction. In this regard, Don Ghermezian, president of the Triple Five company, said that this site would compete with the best in the United States. "We are not building a shopping center. We are not in that business. This is a park that hopes to compete with the best in the United States," said the businessman.
The massive mall is estimated to measure some 12 million square feet, making it larger than the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, a mall also built by Ghermezian's company and currently the largest on the American continent.
One concern at the time was whether taxpayer money would be used for construction, but the bylaws ensure that this will not be the case. Triple Five estimates that some 30 million visitors will arrive at the site annually, while about 70.000 vehicles will arrive at American Dream Miami daily, reflecting the vast space it houses.
However, this project has its downsides, and residents are concerned about the heavy traffic that will occur in the area due to the influx of people. In fact, six years ago, Broward County threatened to file a lawsuit in court, alleging the huge flow of cars that the construction of the center would generate.
Commissioner Xavier Suarez suggested creating a mini-elevated train system to connect with Miami's Metrorail to counter traffic. The construction company said it would spend millions of dollars to widen roads and pay for additional transportation, among other impact measures.
In 2017, the project received its first approval after an extensive seven-hour analysis, with a vote of nine in favor and one against. Years later, the project suffered several delays due to the Covid-9 pandemic that affected the entire world, but the relevant permits for construction work, etc., were resolved.
The developers believe that during construction several employment opportunities will be generated for Miami residents, but once the works are finished, around 14.000 new job openings will be created in different positions such as clerks, entertainers, cashiers, cooks, among many others. "This is the most significant project that has been carried out in Miami-Dade County. It's a good day for us," said Jose Diaz, who at that time was Miami-Dade commissioner.
For the reasons explained above, the shopping center will be the largest in all of North America and the sixth largest in the world.
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