TRENTON, NJ-Legal action against Mills Corp's and Mack-Cali Realty's $1.3 billion, five million-sf Meadowlands Xanadu is still pending from rival developer Hartz Mountain Industries, and Hartz's suit now has some company. The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club yesterday filed suit in state appellate court here to halt construction of the $1.3 billion, five million-sf retail, entertainment, office and hotel project in East Rutherford, NJ, at least temporarily.
The group's suit names the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, which oversees the development masterplan for the Meadowlands region, and the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which owns the development site within the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Specifically, the document charges that the two agencies' studies of the project's impact on the region are flawed.
Jeff Tittel, executive director of the NJ chapter calls Meadowlands Xanadu "a nightmare. It's what happens when you build first and take a look at the impacts later." His group seeks to stop work on the project until there is more public comment and further study of the impact on traffic, air quality and the adjacent wetlands.
NJSEA chairman Carl Goldberg says the group's argument is "without merit. This is a minority position." The state formally signed an agreement with Mills and Mack-Cali earlier this month, and sitework is already under way.
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