American Dream Miami, a $4 billion retail and entertainment complex, won final zoning approval in May to build on undeveloped land off the Florida Turnpike. This 6.2 million square foot project will include an indoor ski slope, live performance space, a water park with a submarine ride and even a film studio. It will be the largest mall in America, include dozens of restaurants and over 1,200 stores. Triple Five Group, the Canadian developers who built the Mall of America in Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada, are confident that their latest mall will provide customers with an experience that online shopping can’t match. American Dream Miami predicts 30 million visitors a year — but that could mean as many as 70,000 vehicle trips a day on already busy roads. Environmental advocates and residents in the area are alarmed about traffic, pollution and harmful effects on local wetlands and wildlife. Existing malls also see a threat, and have pushed back against the project, concerned that it will undermine their profits.

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