Approval of New Jersey Shopping Mall Deal Brings $740 Million Bond Closer

The approval of a deal for a New Jersey shopping mall and entertainment complex brings the sale of roughly $740 million in high yield bonds a step closer.

On Tuesday evening the Borough of East Rutherford council approved financial terms of a deal for the building of the complex. The complex, called American Dream, would be built about five miles west of New York City.

The developer, Triple Five, still must get approvals from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, New Jersey Local Finance Board and the Bergen County Improvement Authority, according to Alan Marcus, president of the developer’s public relations firm, The Marcus Group.

The developer hopes to sell the bonds by the end of this year, Marcus said. If approved, the bonds would be tax-exempt.

The new developer has taken over the project from earlier developers, who had planned to call it Xanadu. The planned site has been dormant since 2009.

If the bonds are approved, the developer would pay off the bonds with payments in lieu of taxes. If the developer defaulted, no branch of government would guarantee the bonds.

The total amount of bonds to be sold has not been settled yet but would be capped at $800 million.

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New Jersey
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