[Avian001]

The main thread of this article is in the Midwestern US forums. I only posted this here because some of you might be interested in hearing about the expansion plans, which go well beyond the interests of just the Midwestern US.

Mods, if you want to delete this because it's redundant, then do so. Or if you want to delete the Midwest version then that's OK too. Thanks!

................

Here's an update to the plans for the expansion of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the mall we all love to hate. :gaah:

These are the latest approved plans for the Mall of America. The new addition will be four stories mostly, and measure 1,567 feet north-south by 1,312 feet east-west. The cost is approx. $1 Billion US and will add 5.6 million square feet to the existing 4.2 million square feet. Construction will begin in 2007.

With this addition, the Mall of America will become the largest single shopping complex in the Western Hemisphere.

The mall currently includes a University, wedding chapel and one of the world's largest aquariums in addition to the largest indoor amusement park in the world.

In comparison, this will make the Mall of America roughly twice the square footage of Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building.

Tenants will include several hundred new stores, a 300,000 square foot Bass Pro Shop, a 6,000-seat performing arts center (built in conjunction with AEG (http://www.aegworldwide.com/home.html)), a new Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster (http://www.gerstlauer-rides.de/english/Gerstlauer_E.html?/english/N_EF_320+_E.html), a waterpark, hockey rink, museum, a Kimpton Hotel (http://www.kimptonhotels.com/), a dinner theatre, residences and office space. Total parking spaces will top 20,000. In addition, $25 million is being invested in upgrading the existing 5-acre indoor amusement park. The expansion will also add a link to the existing IKEA as shown below.

You can see the complete plans in PDF format here. (http://www.ci.bloomington.mn.us/main_stories/moa_ph2/moa_ph2.htm#Plans) These plans were produced last summer, and are still expected to change somewhat.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/197/moamodel01zm3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[vid]

Watch West Ed roll an expansion plan just in time to crush your dreams. :)

America always has to have the biggest everything. That place doesn't need any more sock stores.

[CGII]

Watch West Ed roll an expansion plan just in time to crush your dreams. :)

America always has to have the biggest everything. That place doesn't need any more sock stores.

Interesting. You just said you're the ones with the biggest something and want them to add more...

[vid]

I don't want Edmonton to add more. (I'm actually neutral on that, I honestly don't care what WEM does.) I just said that the laws of Irony dictate that, like with the Freedom Tower and Chicago Spire, SOMETHING is going to come along down the road, and it won't be the 'biggest' or 'tallest' anymore.

Not that I appreciate your trying to make me look stupid. You're almost as good as Stanzi in that regard. :hug:

[Avian001]

Watch West Ed roll an expansion plan just in time to crush your dreams. :)

America always has to have the biggest everything. That place doesn't need any more sock stores.

That's Okay. But the Ghermezians own both properties, and the MOA is building upon a name recognition that doesn't exist in Edmonton. But please don't take this the wrong way. I love Edmonton. It's a fabulous city. However I suspect that the MOA's higher name recognition may lead the Ghermezians to invest more heavily in the MOA rather than the WEM.

But I am perfectly willing to be wrong!!!

Does Triple Five (http://www.hoovers.com/triple-five-group-ltd./--ID__99658--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml) have solid plans to expand the West Edmonton Mall? If so, what's in store?

[CGII]

Not that I appreciate your trying to make me look stupid. You're almost as good as Stanzi in that regard. :hug:

I don't need to make you look stupid. You do that plenty well on your own. I wish you'd just stick to the diagramming.

[vid]

That's Okay. But the Ghermezians own both properties, and the MOA is building upon a name recognition that doesn't exist in Edmonton. But please don't take this the wrong way. I love Edmonton. It's a fabulous city. However I suspect that the MOA's higher name recognition may lead the Ghermezians to invest more heavily in the MOA rather than the WEM.

I didn't know that they were owned by the same group. :) Thanks for shedding some new light on the subject. I understand some posters are unable to do that. :)

@CGII: User CP > under 'Miscellaneous' click 'Buddy / Ignore Lists'; In the second box type 'vid' > hit 'save list'

Problem solved.

[PuyoPiyo]

I would love to go there and shop forever :)

[Avian001]

I didn't know that they were owned by the same group. :) Thanks for shedding some new light on the subject. I understand some posters are unable to do that. :)


Yes, the West Edmonton Mall and the Mall of America are both owned by the Ghermezian family, which controls the Triple Five Corporation (http://www.triplefive.com/index2.html).

They have often promised spectacular results and I, for one, am a convert. They imagine on a huge scale and I applaud them for that. Bravo to them and I hope their vision continues to exceed the average person's grasp.

[vid]

Thanks for informing me! :D I'll be sure to remember that in the future!

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8072/the20more20you20know20ltm6.jpg

[Avian001]

Thanks for informing me! :D I'll be sure to remember that in the future!

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8072/the20more20you20know20ltm6.jpg

I have to say that I've always admired Edmonton and Calgary. You have some terrific cities up there. Canada's western cities have never received the respect they are due. I am always amazed at the gorgeous setting each city can lay claim to, And both Edmonton and Calgary can easily stand amongst the best skylines in North America in my opinion.

[vid]

Go post that in the Canadian forum! Please! Maybe they'll stop bickering for a short while?! :D

[Avian001]

When Phase II is completed as planned, the Mall of America will be the second largest mall on Earth (at 9.8 million square feet), after the Mall of Arabia in Dubai. However, there is still expansion space avaliable to the Mall of America to the east. The expansion may be constrained somewhat by the height restrictions imposed by the nearby International Airport.

[vid]

They can go underground, can't they? :) Build more under the parking lots. Connect it underground to the airport! (Probably not a good idea in this day and age, actually)

[Xelebes]

The truth about WEM - it's falling apart.

[vid]

All malls fall apart. The mall I used to live by installed skylights in their food court, and the first heavy snow we got, it caved in. :) They're fixed now, but still. They're basically built as heated/air conditioned sidewalks and nothing more.

[Stephenapolis]

They can go underground, can't they? :) Build more under the parking lots. Connect it underground to the airport! (Probably not a good idea in this day and age, actually)

Well it is connect to the airport by the LRT. ;)

[Xelebes]

All malls fall apart. The mall I used to live by installed skylights in their food court, and the first heavy snow we got, it caved in. :) They're fixed now, but still. They're basically built as heated/air conditioned sidewalks and nothing more.

True.

I'm just saying the foundations in that mall are fucked - it's hard to build ontop of it.

[chi-townJay]

I have to say that I've always admired Edmonton and Calgary. You have some terrific cities up there. Canada's western cities have never received the respect they are due. I am always amazed at the gorgeous setting each city can lay claim to, And both Edmonton and Calgary can easily stand amongst the best skylines in North America in my opinion.

If you say so lol....

[CTroyMathis]

When Phase II is completed as planned, the Mall of America will be the second largest mall on Earth
http://www.fluxw.com/hugebitch.gif (at 9.8 million square feet)



Very interesting stuff, thanks for posting the link to the *.pdf files as well.

[UncleRando]

I cannot fathem what a mall of this size would be like....what in the hell kind of stores are there?!?!?!!? Or do they just have a million sq.ft. American Eagle...and like 30 Auntie Anne's
:lmao:

[VivaLFuego]

I cannot fathem what a mall of this size would be like....what in the hell kind of stores are there?!?!?!!? Or do they just have a million sq.ft. American Eagle...and like 30 Auntie Anne's
:lmao:

The most Sunglass Huts under one roof in the Western Hemisphere

[vid]

Don't forget all the stores that specialise in socks! :D

Our mall only has one store the specialises in socks. I am so ashamed. :(

[Scruffy]

all the big malls around me have 2 abercrombie stores. i never understand that. this one probably has 6

[Nutterbug]

Let's just say it's just a way of having a city indoors, since it's too bloody cold there to walk around outside.

[Nutterbug]

That's Okay. But the Ghermezians own both properties, and the MOA is building upon a name recognition that doesn't exist in Edmonton. But please don't take this the wrong way. I love Edmonton. It's a fabulous city. However I suspect that the MOA's higher name recognition may lead the Ghermezians to invest more heavily in the MOA rather than the WEM.

I think the name recognition depends on which country you're in.

But it makes more sense to make MoA bigger, since it's in a bigger metropolitan area.

[cur_sed]

The part that scares me is that they're gonna put residences in this thing! Imagine that! You could live, work and shop in the one place, you'd never have to leave the mall. Scary stuff.

[Nutterbug]

^ Astana, Kazakhstan already has the idea of an indoor city.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6165267.stm

[MNMike]

Yes, its always too cold to walk around outside here, lol. Its 41 degrees right now, I am willing to bet there are a ton of places in the US and Canada that are much colder than it is here at this moment:)

Unless you were talking about edmonton...I don't know the weather there.

[krazycanuck]

The part that scares me is that they're gonna put residences in this thing! Imagine that! You could live, work and shop in the one place, you'd never have to leave the mall. Scary stuff.

reminds me of the movie way downtown where a group of coworkers bet a months salary that they can go the longest without going outside. Needless to say, they go crazy.

[MolsonExport]

Twice as big, four times as boring.

[Avian001]

I cannot fathem what a mall of this size would be like....what in the hell kind of stores are there?!?!?!!? Or do they just have a million sq.ft. American Eagle...and like 30 Auntie Anne's
:lmao:

The complete list of stores is here. (http://www.mallofamerica.com/adults_map_directory.aspx)

There are currently over 400 unique stores. The addition will add another 300-400 stores. 17 stores have two locations within the mall. 5 of those are duplicate fast-food restaurants.

I am by no means defending the idea of shopping malls. But it is nice to have palm trees in Minnesota.:)

[Hayward]

all the big malls around me have 2 abercrombie stores. i never understand that. this one probably has 6

It's because each one is catered to different age groups.



The MOA is all about experience, in that bigger seems better. Couple that with some entertainment and amusement park and you have a succesful destination. The more it grows, the more people it will bring in.

It will continue to bring in more stores, but of the same thing. So yes, there will be repeats of some stores, and perhaps they'll haul in a few upscale stores that currently do not exist in the mall.

The MOA will always add on, even 10 years down the road. That is what these types of destinations have to do in order to be succesful; they must grow and re-invent themselves.

[DrT]

The part that scares me is that they're gonna put residences in this thing! Imagine that! You could live, work and shop in the one place, you'd never have to leave the mall. Scary stuff.

Yeah, I think a climate controlled CITY is where it is headed.
I've never been there, but saw a show on TV on it, and was fascinated. I thought to myself, "I really wouldn't mind living there and ditching my car for ever". I am not surprised they are planning residences now. I think they will sell quickly. Never rains, always a nice temperature, very secure from crime, lots to do. Not a bad place to live for lots of folks.

[Avian001]

There are thousands upon thousands of retail stores in the world. There are literally millions of retail items available in the world today. I'm sure the Mall of America will continue to offer unique shops in its inventory. It will not depend upon dozens of Abercrombie & Fitch Stores.

[Hayward]

I disagree. It's about who's willing to pay the rent and put themseleves at the best locations in the mall. Not all of those thousands upon thousands of various retail stores will work or can afford to be in the MOA. That's why I won't be surprised to see more repeats.

[zeno333]

Very Interesting. Ironic since some large malls are dying, like the Century III mall near Pittsburgh. I presume that Century III when it eveantually will be the largest mall to be abandoned. Wikipedia says century III is 40% occupied, and that many of the existing stoes are cheap "niche" stores, the type that tend to go into dying malls.

[vid]

Same here. Except for our largest mall (which in the past 13 years has more than doubled in size), which is doing pretty good considering it has a Walmart and two Power Centres near by.

But all of the other malls are dying. The one I used to live across the street from has almost no competition, aside from a couple restaurants and a Safeway across the street, and it can hold about 55 stores, but is now down to only about 20. It lost one of it's Anchor stores in 2003, but I think the only way it survived is the Library, grocery store and Zellers being in it, and the fact that it's location, equidistant between Sault Sainte Marie and Winnipeg, keep people going there because it's RIGHT THERE for travellers. Intercity, though it's bigger, gets mostly local shoppers.

One mall here used to be anchored by a local grocery store and a Zellers. That Zellers moved out after Kmart went under, so that the city wasn't oversaturated with them, but the loss of that Zellers killed the grocery store too because people stopped going to the mall. It's now an ~100,000 square foot Buck or Two on one end and an ~75,000 square foot Dollarama. :) The store inside has a couple dollar stores and a lotto kiosk now. :P

[Coldrsx]

As for West Edmonton Mall.....there is a similar plan to add to it:


-new hotel tower
-assisted living tower
-office tower
-convention centre with 8,000 seat rink (likely no rink IMO)
-general reno
-remove 3 storey parkades and replace with fewer but 5-6 storey ones.

[bluedogok]

The part that scares me is that they're gonna put residences in this thing! Imagine that! You could live, work and shop in the one place, you'd never have to leave the mall. Scary stuff.
Exactly what some people think downtowns should be....and some think "those places" are scary :rolleyes:

[PA Pride]

I feel we need to make the Mall of America larger and larger to compensate for our extremely small American penises!!!

Everyone is soo busy shopping and oggling at that mall, no one has noticed my 2 incher!!!!!

[realcity]

I cannot fathem what a mall of this size would be like....what in the hell kind of stores are there?!?!?!!? Or do they just have a million sq.ft. American Eagle...and like 30 Auntie Anne's
:lmao:

ha ha. I think that sq ft # includes the office, parking, performing arts venues as well.

I like how it's getting more mixed-uses. Add some mixture of housing, small pedestrian laneways (not just connecting highways) and it's almost a town.

[STR]

all the big malls around me have 2 abercrombie stores. i never understand that. this one probably has 6

One is for mindless shallow adults (Abercrombie and Fitch) while the other is for shallow, mindless teens and preteens (Abercrombie).

I didn't learn that until last year.

[MolsonExport]

One day, in the USA, someone, somewhere will build an even bigger mall. And the mall of America will begin to wither. What will become of such a vast space, that has no other redeeming qualities, except proximity to the airport?

[staff]

...a new Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster (http://www.gerstlauer-rides.de/english/Gerstlauer_E.html?/english/N_EF_320+_E.html)...
I'm sure no one in Europe will fight back... :)

[Avian001]

One day, in the USA, someone, somewhere will build an even bigger mall. And the mall of America will begin to wither. What will become of such a vast space, that has no other redeeming qualities, except proximity to the airport?

It will be torn down to make way for something even bigger and more profitable. That's the American Way, eh?

[M II A II R II K]

How far along is it now.

[Muskavon]

So everyone figures that the business people who pour millions into this expansion do it out of some patriotic philanthropic motivation to make the US have the largest mall so they can run around saying "woo hoo we got the US the biggest mall?" Seriously? Personally I think things are done because people think they can be successful. Whether or not they are right will be judged soon enough.

[Nutterbug]

So everyone figures that the business people who pour millions into this expansion do it out of some patriotic philanthropic motivation to make the US have the largest mall so they can run around saying "woo hoo we got the US the biggest mall?"

That sounds more like Dubai's line of thinking.

[Scruffy]

eventually their going to build residences into the mall complex and it will become an indoor town. who really needs direct sunlight anyways

[CHAPINM1]

That sounds more like Dubai's line of thinking.

That IS Dubai's line of thinking...

[bbeliko]

why are they going with a less known hotel chain???