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Xanadu
falls short
Xanadu
Overview
[Link] to original proposals
New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority [NJSEA] ·
Xanadu web site
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The Record Editorial, Sunday, October 17, 2004
Xanadu falls short
Xanadu, the giant
entertainment-retail center planned for the Meadowlands, is named after the "stately
pleasure dome" of the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem.
But it could turn into the North
Jersey Nightmare.
That's because developers and
public officials have yet to live up to some key promises crucial to keeping this
potentially beneficial project from turning into a huge and costly mistake.
Scheduled to open in 2½ years on
the site around Continental Arena, Xanadu's entertainment-retail center will be 20 percent
larger than Garden State Plaza. The entire complex, including office towers and hotel,
would be 2½ times larger.
A key benefit of this giant
project is it could revitalize the Meadowlands complex at a time when the Nets and Devils
- and possibly the Jets - could be headed for new venues.
It also has the potential to
create thousands of jobs, add millions of dollars to tax rolls and boost the region's
economy by drawing visitors to a one-of-a-kind entertainment venue replete with chocolate
waterfalls, indoor sky diving and a car-racing track.
But those employees, together
with thousands of daily visitors, could add up to big problems - including gridlock and
substantially dirtier air and waterways. North Jersey residents would have to live with
these problems. And they and the rest of the state could ultimately have to pay for fixing
them.
Any development requires
tradeoffs. The bigger the project, the greater the possible benefits - and risks. But the
job of government is to protect the public by ensuring the risks are reasonable.
What the public has gotten so far
are promises of protection with limited results.
Just consider how the developers
and the agency that oversees the Meadowlands Sports Complex have presented Xanadu in the
20 months since the project was announced, and what has actually happened.
They said the developers, Mills
Corp. and Mack-Cali, would commit in writing to help pay for highway improvements to
prevent gridlock on the crucial arteries of Routes 3, 17 and the turnpike.
That hasn't happened yet.
The problem is no one knows how
much traffic Xanadu will generate because adequate studies have yet to be completed.
Unfortunately, that didn't stop state environmental officials from approving the project
earlier this month.
The developers - who seem to care
only about the driving ease for Xanadu patrons - will pay approximately $32 million for
improving roads and highway exits leading onto the site. But what if the turnpike and
other highways need new lanes and other improvements - who will pay?
- They said the
project would be a plus for both the environment and the state: The developer was going to
donate nearly 600 acres of wetlands for preservation while also paying $25 million to
clean up those marshes.
That's
not quite what happened.
True, a huge swath of wetlands
will be preserved, and that's important. But the gift turned into a sale, with the
developer receiving a nearly $27 million payment for land that likely could not be built
on anyway.
And the millions promised for
cleanup? That essentially vanished.
The state says paying for the
wetlands is far better than a proposal by the developer that would have led to building on
other wetlands around New Jersey.
But since when does the state
allow a developer to set the terms for negotiation?
- They said the deal
would allow the quasi-public New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to pay off a huge
chunk of its $500 million in debt - saving millions in interest each year.
Not going to happen.
Instead of the developer paying
$160 million up front, it's paying in several installments, reducing the value to the
sports authority.
- The developer and
the sports authority have insisted, repeatedly, that Xanadu would not be a mega-mall. A
mall would violate the Meadowlands authority's founding mandate that the sports complex be
used primarily for sports and entertainment.
That promise sounds more hollow by the day.
The sports authority is twisting
the meaning of the word "retail" to stay within its announced limits of 600,000
square feet. By their definition, a planned Circuit City, Virgin Records store and a
sporting goods superstore aren't retail because they will include entertainment. But malls
include entertainment - and they're still malls.
- They said the
project would create 19,000 permanent full-time jobs.
That looks iffy.
More than 12,000 of these jobs
would be in the office towers that the developers aren't required to build.
- All these claims
about Xanadu helped sell the project to the public. All are important. But the most
pressing problem is traffic.
Xanadu's developers stand to make a bundle on this project. But their
lawyer acknowledges they so far have made only "a verbal commitment" to
contribute their fair share - determined by an established state formula - for widening
highways and whatever it takes to keep the already horrible traffic in that area from
getting worse.
The state and sports authority
must demand that commitment - now, in writing - before construction goes any further.
To understand what's at stake,
imagine driving down Route 3, 17 or the turnpike in five years. When you pass Xanadu, will
you think, "What a great idea that was?"
Or, as you clench your teeth in
snarled traffic, will you mutter, "Who the heck is responsible for this
disaster?"
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Xanadu has gone the
extra mile
"Xanadu falls short" (Editorial, October 17), has it backward. Instead of
falling short, Meadowlands Xanadu has gone further than our original proposal in benefits
to New Jersey. It's time to set The Record straight.
We originally proposed spending $65 million for traffic and other infrastructure
improvements to the area. We've now agreed with the Sports Authority and the state
of New Jersey to fund additional traffic improvements that will be part of an overall and
long-overdue regional transportation program now being conducted by the state Department
of Transportation. We have accepted completion of these improvements as a condition
of permits to build Xanadu.
Xanadu has been the catalyst not only for this plan, but also for the commitment of
funding for the Post Authority's rail link to the Meadowlands. We've gone the extra
mile, and it's time The Record reflects the facts.
We originally proposed preserving the Empire Tract's 587 acres of wetlands (for which a
viable development plan had reached the final approval stages) and recovering part of its
value by selling credits worth tens of millions of dollars through a wetlands mitigation
bank. Working with the Sports Authority, the state DEP and responsible
environmentalists like the Hackensack Riverkeeper, we've now agreed to forgo that money in
exchange for a much smaller financial credit from the Sports Authority. Also we will
contribute millions of dollars to mitigate and maintain additional wetlands elsewhere in
the Meadowlands.
We will pay the $150 million to the Sports Authority all at once as negotiated. The
Sports Authority will receive it in installments due to constraints of outstanding
lawsuits. The payments in lieu of taxes all all they were promised to be and will
provide property tax relief to local municipalities for years to come.
The jobs promised -- and much sooner than any other proposal considered by the Sports
Authority during the request-for proposals process.
New Jersey and Bergen County deserve a more complete record on Xanadu that The Record's
editorial provides
James Dausch, Alexandria, VA, October 21, 2004
The writer is president of development for the Mill Corporation.
This letter appeared in "Your Views", The Record, Sunday, October 24, 2004
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Advertisement appearing the The Record, October 25, 2004
Meadowlands Xanadu
The Best Always Go The Extra Mile.
Much has been said about Meadowlands Xanadu. What you don't hear is all we're doing
for Bergen County and New Jersey. So, let the facts speak for themselves.
Transportation Benefits
Meadowlands Xanadu has studied this project more than any other development in the entire
region. What's more, for the first time in the region's history, the developer will be
funding traffic improvements. Meadowlands Xanadu also is the catalyst for
long-sought rail service to the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
Job Creation
Meadowlands Xanadu will create 19,000 construction jobs. When the first and second
phases have been completed, and additional 20,000 permanent jobs will be generated.
This represents more new jobs that any other project in New Jersey. The developers
already have made an upfront payment as if the entire site were redeveloped.
Environmental Benefits
The Empire Tract was to be used as a mitigation bank in the original Meadowlands Xanadu
proposal. A Mitigation bank has substantial value but environmentalists opposed it.
Meadowlands Xanadu understands the importance of working without neighbors and
agreed to eliminate the mitigation bank, costing tens of millions of dollars
Meadowlands Xanadu...
A Matter of Fact.
#####
Advertisement appearing the The Record, November 1, 2004
Meadowlands Xanadu
The Best Always Go The Extra Mile.
Much has been said about Meadowlands Xanadu. What you don't hear is all we're doing
for Bergen County and New Jersey. So, let the facts speak for themselves.
Tax Revenue Benefits
Meadowlands Xanadu will provide millions of dollars every year for the next 75 years in
property tax relief for the region's homeowners. This unprecedented financial
arrangement demonstrates that we recognize the importance of working with our neighbors.
World-class Entertainment
Meadowlands Xanadu has just announced many of our first-of-a-kind entertainment partners.
Commitments are now reality. Meadowlands Xanadu will be a unique destination
providing family entertainment and reinvigorating the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
Meadowlands Xanadu...
A Matter of Fact.
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