Terms of the tentative deal were not made available because
the settlement was marked “confidential” by all parties, according to a clerk
for Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne.
But Jon F. Hanson, Governor Christie’s adviser on sports and
entertainment projects in the state, said that he now anticipates that Triple
Five “will commence construction almost immediately” — finishing the existing
structures at the long-dormant site and starting work on indoor water and
amusement parks that the company wants to add to the complex.
Jim Kirkos, the president of the Meadowlands Regional
Chamber of Commerce, said that a resumption of work at the American
Dream site would have far-reaching consequences for other
development in the area.
“The moment that work starts is really like a red flag going
down and a green flag going up,” Kirkos said. “It’s a signal that perhaps we’re
past all the past difficulties of the project.”
The two football teams had sought an injunction from Doyne,
sitting in Bergen County, to prevent Triple Five from resuming construction.
They maintained that the company’s plans to add the year-round parks would
adversely affect game-day traffic at MetLife Stadium, just across Route 120
from the planned entertainment and retail complex.
A year later, Triple Five responded with its own lawsuit
against the teams, seeking damages for an alleged “malicious public relations
campaign against the project” designed to preserve the teams’ monopoly at the
site while scaring off potential lenders from investing.
Stipulations noting “a settlement agreement” were filed
Monday, “without prejudice,” giving each side the right to revive legal action
should the deal break down.
Neither Triple Five nor the teams had anything to say about
the tentative deal Tuesday and its terms could not be learned.
But the agreement could possibly spell out some degree of
limitation on American Dream operations on days that either the Jets or Giants
have home games as well as on the occasions when concerts or international
soccer matches are held at MetLife Stadium. The 82,000-seat stadium — the site
of this year’s Super Bowl — is owned and operated by the two National Football
League franchises.
Financial compensation could also be part of the deal, as it
was in 2006 when the developer of Xanadu agreed to pay $15 million in exchange
for the teams’ signoff on allowing that incarnation of the project to go
forward.
Both sides had differed widely on the degree of game-day
traffic likely to be generated by American Dream, with Triple Five saying that
there would be little impact and the teams describing it as a potential
nightmare for their fans.
Triple Five first emerged nearly three years ago as a
prospective developer of the Xanadu site, which has sat idle since 2009, saying
it would bring the region a destination for international tourists and provide
thousands of jobs, first for construction workers and then for people in the
retail and entertainment industries.
Christie has been a key ally, championing the project as a
key to economic development, support that won him the endorsement of some
organized labor unions in his bid for reelection. Christie has also said that a
resumption of work would help change the patchwork color scheme of what he has
called “the ugliest damn building in New Jersey, and maybe America.”
A spokesman for Christie did not respond to a request for
comment Tuesday.
Even with the agreement, there are still issues that remain
to be resolved for American Dream.
Representatives of Triple Five, the owner of the Mall of
America in Minnesota, have estimated that $1.9 billion in financing is needed
to complete their vision of the project. They have preliminary approval from
East Rutherford, Bergen County, and state officials for a bond offering that
would provide up to $800 million of that amount in public financing backed by
revenues generated at the site and not tax dollars. Most of the rest is to come
from private lenders.
East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella called the settlement
“good news.”
“Now that this Jets/Giants thing is done, obviously Triple
Five has to get settled with us and the [Bergen County Improvement Authority],”
Cassella said. “But I think their next hurdle is the private lenders. I think
they need to get that in place before we in East Rutherford do anything.”
The borough still is negotiating with Triple Five on several
issues, including insurance against potential litigation and reimbursement for
emergency service calls.
“We’re slowly moving along, and we’re getting closer,”
Cassella said. “Certainly the settlement, if it is true, I think that will
accelerate the process.”
Hanson said also that New Jersey officials are looking to
negotiate a “financial participation agreement” with Triple Five to give the
state a chance to share in profits generated on the project. He added that he
does “not anticipate that will slow down the construction.”
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge called the deal “another
step toward revitalization of the project.”
“It’s a shame that we didn’t have the project open for the
Super Bowl,” said Sarlo. “But with the spring weather today, I hope that
signals a restart of construction there.”
The project, first approved as Xanadu by the New Jersey
Sports and Exposition Authority in February 2003, is not expected to open
before the end of 2015. Work stopped at the site in March 2009 when, with
nearly $2 billion spent, a key lender balked at providing more funding to one
of two previous developers.
Source: NorthJersey.com
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