In a move that could turn out to be the trigger for turning the long-dormant American Dream Meadowlands into a reality, project operator Triple Five announced late Friday that it has closed on $1.6 billion in construction financing for the long-stalled project.

The deal is expected to set the stage in the coming days or weeks for a billion-dollar bond issuance that would provide the rest of the funding for the 2.9 million square foot first phase of the entertainment and retail project.

American Dream President Don Ghermezian said the project would "redefine the retail and entertainment experience in the U.S. and across the world."

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Triple Five also announced a March 2019 opening date for the development, a successor to a Meadowlands Xanadu project first approved by the state more than 14 years ago.

East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella, a sometime-critic of the project and in office since before Xanadu was approved, said the closing of the financing likely turns the corner for American Dream.

"It appears that this is going forward," Cassella said Saturday. "I have a lot more confidence now that it's actually going to happen - and there have been times where I didn't think it would go ahead. I just think of how much I've aged in this time."

Meadowlands Regional Chamber President Jim Kirkos said the announcement "proves what we have believed since the inception - that this amazing project will in fact be completed. It will sustain and transform the regional economy here in the Meadowlands for the next 25 years. Projects like this come along once in a lifetime."

Wayne Hasenbalg, the president of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, also hailed the announcement as a longtime supporter of the project moving forward.

"For far too long, we have been saying there is light at the end of the tunnel for the many years this project - through multiple developer groups - has tried to become a reality," Hasenbalg said. "Finally we are nearing the sunlight, and Triple Five has demonstrated they are providing their own resources to back up the commitment they made from day one to bring this exciting project to the state of New Jersey."

Hasenbalg also cited the thousands of construction jobs that are now expected to be created over the next two years.

Years in the making

Triple Five has worked for four years on putting together a complex financing package to finish off a project that already includes $2 billion spent by previous developers.

J.P. Morgan handled the construction financing, while Goldman Sachs is managing the issuance of non-recourse - no cost to the taxpayer - bonds through the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

The private financing that was just committed is directly linked to the bond offering, with each set of partners seeking guarantees from the other. Numerous target dates have been missed, including one in early November that was delayed in part due to fluctuations in the bond market after the surprise election of Donald Trump as president.

Cassella said he expected the bonds to be sold in mid-June, at which point the borough would receive $24 million from Triple Five - most of which would go toward paying off a new Justice Center the borough had built several years ago in large part because of the expectation that the borough would have to bear all security, police and fire department expenses for the project.

That is no longer the case. As part of an amended agreement, the developer has agreed to take on those responsibilities.

East Rutherford also would get $2.5 million per year from a portion of a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement with Triple Five, with the developer converting the larger portion of the PILOT deal into a revenue stream connected to the bond sale.

Mills Corp., the principal developer of Xanadu, turned over the property to Colony Capital in 2006 and was liquidated in 2007. Colony lost control of the site in 2009, and Triple Five entered the picture in 2011.

Construction came to a halt for five years until 2014, and has continued intermittently since. A handful of construction workers have been visible in recent weeks, with other work being done inside the facility.

Full-scale construction at the site ceased late last year.

Email: brennan@northjersey.com