Fashion

Florida Becomes Home To Nation's Largest Mall

by Jessica Willingham

I was under the impression that the future of the American mall was pretty much dead, but it appears as though I might not be 100% correct. Case in point: the nation's largest shopping mall is underway in Florida, and it's going to be a whopping $4 billion dollar project.

The state of Florida sold 82 acres of land near Hialeah, Florida for a hefty $12.3 million to a mega-mall developer. Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet approved the sale Tuesday, even though objections were plenty. Naysayers say the land should have been put up for bids. Other critics claim developers are paying partial owners of the 200-acre site more per acre than the state is getting.

The Miami-Dade County school system leases part of the land, which is pretty lucky for them: they'll get $8.25 million for the deal.

The new mall, named The American Dream, is expected to bring 25,000 jobs and become the largest mall in the country. Its developer, Mall of America in Minnesota, is currently the largest mall in the nation. It hopes to proudly pass on the title to the Florida mall, with plans to build a ski slope, water park, and submarine rides.

Sounds fun and all, but I'm still a little skeptical that this plan will hold water when 78 percent of the nation's population is shopping online. Still, I'm pretty psyched about the idea of going from a sea-lion habitat to H&M in less than two minutes.