Arena Proposals Set to Be Unveiled

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-When the deadline for ideas to redevelop the Continental Airlines Arena site passed late Tuesday, a total of four proposals were in the entry box. The four are slated to be formally unveiled at a press conference today.

Everything went according to plan as the deadline passed, although there were two mild surprises. One was that Donald Trump will not participate-at least financially-in International Speedway Corp.’s plan to build a major auto racing facility on the site (ISC is the development arm of NASCAR). He did say that he would continue to advise the group, however. His defection from the partnership indicates that ISC may have to combine its proposal with one of the others, according to observers.

The other mild surprise was a bid that surfaced from Westfield America, which owns more than 60 regional shopping centers in the US, including the nearby Garden State Plaza in Paramus. The focus of company’s proposal would be a major regional shopping complex with some additional mixed uses.

The other two proposals had been well-known in advance. In one, Hartz Mountain Industries and Forest City Ratner propose to build an $825 million mixed-use project that would include retail, entertainment and hotel uses, as well as a half-million-sf convention center. Finally, the Mills Corp. and Mack-Cali Realty would team up to develop a combination office park, regional shopping complex and a minor league baseball stadium.