Xanadu

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Opening date pushed back to this November, if it opens at all !

Weaksauce..I was counting on some days at Xanadu this summer..

 

[Maksim]

I remember waiting 3 years ago to ski here this past summer. lol. whats another year.

I did go on youtube to look at the indoor places like this in dubai.... cant be all that ghetto. =P

I think what would make it really great is to have a treadmill like indoor where you can just ski in place for eva!

 

[hardline]

Opening date pushed back to this November, if it opens at all !

that just doesnt make any sense. you would think they would want to be open for the summer

I remember waiting 3 years ago to ski here this past summer. lol. whats another year.

I did go on youtube to look at the indoor places like this in dubai.... cant be all that ghetto. =P

I think what would make it really great is to have a treadmill like indoor where you can just ski in place for eva!

 

[njskier]

that just doesnt make any sense. you would think they would want to be open for the summer

With less than a third of the space currently leased I think it makes plenty of sense.

 

[RootDKJ]

Yeah, but in November, many tri-staters are already starting to ski real areas. Not sure on the business model opening in the Fall. I'm sure that some of the locals would be very tempted to hit that in July, opposed to November. December will hopefully be a wash for them and January, most folks will be getting the good stuff.

 

[andyzee]

A white elephant is a valuable possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) exceeds its usefulness.

 

[hardline]

that just doesnt make any sense. you would think they would want to be open for the summer

With less than a third of the space currently leased I think it makes plenty of sense.

sure but that is the retail space, the ski operation is seperate for the retail.

 

[deadheadskier]

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883546,00.html?cnn=yes

 

[jaywbigred]

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883546,00.html?cnn=yes

Interesting. I guess they are thinking, "if you build it, they will come"?

When in fact they should be thinking "If you seed bumps, they will come."

 

[andyzee]

A white elephant is a valuable possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) exceeds its usefulness.

A STARK REALITY AT XANADU

Saturday, March 21, 2009 BY TED SHERMAN
Star-Ledger Staff

The signature outdoor store with its own waterfall and mountain stream is in hibernation.
The multiplex cinema is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.And a key lender is in default.

Yesterday, the Xanadu complex in the Meadowlands -- which was selling a $2billion fantasy experience replete with an indoor ski slope, skydiving wind tunnels, the country's tallest Ferris wheel and hundreds of retail shops -- faced the cold reality of the faltering economy.
Officials said some construction is being slowed and the opening of the 2.3 million-square-foot complex along the New Jersey Turnpike in East Rutherford will again be delayed.
Workers at the site said they were told they were being let go, but a spokesman for the developer, Meadowlands Xanadu, said the project is not being halted -- only that it will not open as planned late this summer because of financing issues with one of its lenders.
"There is still ongoing construction," the spokesman, Tim White, said. "It's just at a different pace." The company is contemplating a new opening date beyond August 2009, he said, and asked contractors "to re-focus their work in line with that goal."
No new date has been set. The project, which has drawn criticism for its garish exterior of orange, blue and green panels that give it the appearance of stacked cargo shipping containers, is about 90 percent complete.
Xanadu has been having increasing trouble leasing the vast retail space it is assembling. One partner building an 18-screen movie theater in the complex is in financial default. Cabelas, the outdoor hunting and fishing outfitter and a major anchor, said earlier this month it will delay its opening until spring of 2010.
Xanadu officials say more than 70 percent of the shopping and entertainment complex has been rented, but many in the real estate industry say the continuing decline in the economy makes that number suspect with so many retailers across the country going out of business.

White said the construction schedule was changed because of a default by a non-bankrupt affiliate of Lehman Brothers known as Xanadu Mezz Holdings LLC -- which he said refused to fund its share of the construction loans. Meadowlands Xanadu said it was planning to file suit against the lender.
"We are taking all possible steps to get the lender to fulfill its obligations," White said. "We have opened talks with our other lenders -- all of whom are current on their funding obligations -- to resolve the issue."




While White said work at the site continued, some construction workers at the mega-mall site could be seen hauling away equipment and said they were told the project was being shut down.
Dave Schick, an employee of GAR Equipment of South Plainfield, said he was told the entire site is being shut down with the exception of electricians and sprinkler fitters. Paul Pine, another GAR worker, was sent to the Xanadu site to remove 100 construction lifts.
"All I know is they told us to get the stuff out," Pine said. "I was just told this morning."
Officials at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which received $160 million for a 15-year lease for Xanadu, said the authority is reviewing its redevelopment agreement to see what remedies the agency may have if the project is suspended. Carl Goldberg, chairman of the authority, was also irked that the state had not been informed of the problems.
"It's an integral part of our vision for the future," said Goldberg, who has a meeting scheduled within 10 days with the developer. "As the landlord, I need to know when they are going to open."
State Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) was more critical.
"This is the icing on the cake that flopped before you could get it out of the oven," Codey said. "This would be a tremendous disappointment in any economic climate, but given the dire straits we're in now, it's a huge setback to a region that was relying heavily on the project for job creation and revenue."
Codey said Xanadu's project managers "need to get their heads out of the sand" and answer whether completion is even feasible at this point.



Xanadu was always a risky project, said James W. Hughes, dean of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy who studies economic trends in New Jersey. He said the project was caught between overlapping storms.
"Basically the fiscal crisis is still in overdrive, and Xanadu is a risky investment at a time all lenders are risk-adverse," Hughes said. At the same time, there is continuing retrenchment by consumers.



"Labor markets keep getting worse, home equity is declining, and 401(k) nest eggs have big cracks in them, so people are zipping up their wallets," he said. "There is not a lot of slack purchasing power out there that will flow to Xanadu. It will go to Wal-Mart."
Robert Corrales, a spokesman for Gov. Jon Corzine, said many companies are faced with difficult decisions because of the national economic crisis.
"When Xanadu opens, it is going to be a great destination for New Jerseyans," he said.
But Xanadu opponent Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, called the project a disaster waiting to happen.
"We've given millions in incentives, tax breaks and transportation on a project that was pushed through because of political connections -- not because we needed it," he said. "Xanadu is a monument to hubris and excess. It's ugly. It's toxic. And now it's empty."

Staff writer Lisa Fleisher contributed to this report. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@starledger.com or (973) 392-4278.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I hope it's ready for this summer..

 

[andyzee]

I hope it's ready for this summer..

Not happening.

 

[RootDKJ]

oh well..

 

[deadheadskier]

One thing I have to say about Xanadu; if it isn't the ugliest piece of architecture I've ever seen, I don't know what is.

 

[andyzee]

One thing I have to say about Xanadu; if it isn't the ugliest piece of architecture I've ever seen, I don't know what is.

Yes sir, that it is.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Not happening.

LAME..it's like the freaking big dig..

 

[RootDKJ]

sucks. I would be totally legit to get turns in during my lunch break

 

[andyzee]

It's joisey, they'll probably put a match to it and collect the insurance.

 

[RootDKJ]

It's joisey, they'll probably put a match to it and collect the insurance.

oh, like veron valley/great gorge?

 

[andyzee]

oh, like veron valley/great gorge?

Yeah, that's the ticket.