American Dream Miami mall pushed back due to traffic issues

Triple Five Group’s plans for what would be the biggest mall in North America have reportedly been pushed back due to traffic concerns. 

American Dream Miami, a 6.2 million-square-foot project, would be built on about nearly 200 acres in Northwest Miami-Dade County. Triple Five had said it planned to break ground on the Miami development by the end of the year, but it looks like the developer will go before the county commission next year instead.

Triple Five refiled a comprehensive development master plan amendment for the site in November, which should have been voted on in May or June, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The developer’s attorney told the newspaper that Triple Five moved the application to the next cycle, either in February or March of next year, because the county asked for more traffic information and analysis.

Included in the traffic study filed in May is a nearly 4,500-page analysis that covers the mall’s potential impact on areas as far as southwest Broward County, Hialeah and Miami Lakes. According to the report, American Dream Miami would generate close to 70,000 trips a day, and 5,200 during afternoon rush hour – which is up from earlier traffic studies.

Plans for the actual development remain unchanged, the South Florida Business Journal reported. American Dream Miami would include a 2,000-room hotel, a 16-story indoor ski slope, a 20-slide water park, a submarine ride in a man-made salt water lake with an artificial reef, a climate-controlled theme park, a 14-screen 3-D movie theater, a performing arts center and more. 

The change also applies to a 309-acre, mixed-use project that the Graham Cos. is planning on neighboring land between I-75 and the Florida Turnpike.

Triple Five, led by Iranian-Canadian developer Eskandar Ghermezian, is known for developing Mall of America in Minnesota. [SFBJ] – Katherine Kallergis