Those approvals must still come from the New Jersey DEP, andfrom the US Army Corps of Engineers, both of which are expected tosign off on it. There is still pending legal action against thesprawling project, however, filed by rival developer Hartz MountainIndustries.

NJSEA approval was required because Xanadu, which will includeeverything from an indoor ski mountain, to a major retail componentand office buildings, will rise on a state-owned site at theMeadowlands Sports Complex, surrounding the existing ContinentalAirlines Arena. Other components of the sports complex includeGiants Stadium and the Meadowlands Race Track.

Mills and Mack-Cali had originally expected to officially breakground for the project on Sept. 29. However, that event has beenmoved back to Oct. 5, because all off the permits aren't expectedto be in place by the end of this month. And instead of agroundbreaking, Mills and Mack-Cali officials are now calling theevent a ground-lease signing.