Economic Development Authority did not have legal right to give 'American Dream at Meadowlands' the financial incentives Watch video
Last month, Gov. Chris Christie stood inside the partly finished entertainment complex formerly known as Xanadu — a name that had become associated with a boondoggle in the swamp — to announce a deal with a new developer to get the stalled $1.9 billion project off the ground.
It would now be called the “American Dream at Meadowlands,” developed by the Triple Five Group — owners of the Mall of America in Minneapolis. It would be even bigger than the 2.4-million-square-foot complex originally planned. And the state would provide up to $200 million in tax breaks to make sure the dream came true.
There was one catch: The Economic Development Authority did not have the legal authority to issue the financial incentives. The company plans to invest $1 billion to expand the mall, which has already cost $1.9 billion, by adding several new features.
The Christie administration reached out to Democratic lawmakers on Monday and asked them to quickly shepherd a bill through the Legislature that would make the Meadowlands eligible.
A spokesman for the governor, Kevin Roberts, insisted yesterday the administration knew all along it would have to amend the law. “This was the expectation,” he said.
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), the chairman of the Senate Economic Growth Committee, said he agreed to sponsor the bill and put it before the panel Thursday. But he said he had no idea whether the governor had misread the 2009 law he wrote that created the tax breaks.
“I can’t read his mind,” Lesniak said. “I don’t know. I didn’t think about it until they came to me through staff saying they need this and they need it now.”
The state program they were relying to help finance the project, the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant program (ERGG), only applies to what are known as metropolitan and suburban “smart growth” areas. Those areas do not include developable land in the Meadowlands, including the parcels owned by the Sports and Exposition Authority.
Assemblyman Al Coutinho (D-Essex) said the Christie administration reached out to him early this week to ask him to introduce the same bill, but it has not yet been posted for a hearing in the lower chamber yet.
“I was contacted by the administration basically to request my support in moving legislation,” he said. “I have no problem helping to make this happen. … To the extent that someone in the administration misinterpreted the eligibility for it, I would refer questions to them on that.”
Maureen Bausch, Mall of America’s executive vice president of business development, said the tax breaks would come from the sales tax revenue generated by the combination retail and entertainment complex, and that the company would not get the money until the project was completed.
“It’s very common in these types of developments, but it’s very important,” she said, adding that the company had not been guaranteed the incentives yet.
“We have to apply and be approved,” she said.
The hiccup provided critics of the project another chance to say that the state had its priorities wrong, especially with a bill making public employees pay much more for pension and health benefits speeding its way through the Legislature.
Deborah Howlett, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a liberal research organization, said the scramble to change the law shows the administration is more concerned about helping developers than developing a plan to rebuild the state’s economy.
“They’re trying to do deals for developers,” she said. “There is no cohesive plan for economic redevelopment or putting the economy back in gear.”