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Firefighters remain on the scene of a large brush fire in the meadowlands of northern New Jersey that's producing plumes of thick, black smoke.

Fresh off his legislative victory curbing state worker benefits, New Jersey governor Chris Christie talks about his bi-partisan strategy to put the deal together, the future of the state's public broadcasting assets and the stalled Xanadu mall project.

"Xanadu" is now "American Dream Meadowlands" and it's going to be the biggest mall in the US. Bob Hennelly, WNYC Reporter, talks about the ambitious new development, what it means for Chris Christie's administration, and other local news.

The developer behind the Mall of America in Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada is now interested in re-developing the Xanadu project in New Jersey's Meadowlands. Triple Five has signed a letter of intent with the lenders of the property.

Dear Mr. President,

I heard that Wednesday evening you are coming to a fundraiser in Cresskill, New Jersey. I know you have been working overtime to get our economy unstuck, but I just wanted to outline some local conditions for you about how jammed up we are in these parts.

Gov. Chris Christie came to the new Giants-Jets stadium's 50-yard line to lay out the most dramatic public policy shift for the state's gambling industry and Sports Authority since both were created more than 30 years ago. After the state lost the intitial rounds of roulette on the Xanadu mega-mall here, Christie says he may have no choice but to throw more chips on the table.

The Jets and Giants will host Super Bowl 48 at their new Meadowlands stadium.

Back in 2002, Xanadu, the 2.3 million square foot mega entertainment and retail complex, was intended as a way for New Jersey’s Sport and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) to rebrand its aging Meadowlands Complex. The NJSEA was facing the loss of three of its sports franchises, the Devils, the Nets and the Jets. For years, the commercial potential of the sports complex, just 25 minutes from New York City, had never really materialized. The site was only accessible by auto and traffic jams plagued its busiest days.

New Jersey is always strapped for transportation dollars. So the odds were stacked against the NJSEA to get the hundreds of millions needed for a mass transit link that would only serve Sunday football fans. But if they could add a “Xanadu', that would also include office and hotel development, the Sports Authority could make its case.

Xanadu, As Built, March 17, 2009

Listen to Hennelly's tale of Xanadu:

The Port Authority did shell out $182 million for the 2.3-mile rail spur that ties the entire Meadowlands complex into New Jersey Transit’s rail network. The NJSEA kicked in over $6 million to buy land it needed to complete the rail right of way, also a Superfund site in the midst of remediation.

A rail spur that was supposed to cost $150 million would cost almost 30 percent more and be years behind schedule. It is scheduled now to open in June. As far as holding on to the three sports franchises for the NJSEA? It was one for three. The Devils skated to Newark, the Nets look to be bouncing to Brooklyn and the Jets landed in the neighborhood. They teamed up with the Giants to build a brand new stadium. Was the private public partnership a “win win? Time will tell. Xanadu says it is 70 percent leased, but concedes it does not yet have an anchor retail tenant.

The History: The Vision, Early Supporters, Key Documents

The Vision

Images courtesy of Meadowlands Xanadu
'A world of opportunity'