I’ve been thinking about the possible reasons the Florida Cabinet might reject the sale of surplus land to Miami-Dade County for the American Dream Miami mega-mall. Truthfully, it’s hard to come up with any real reasons. The entire process was followed to the letter and in the spirit of the law. But we all know far too well that politics can sometimes obscure little things — little things like the facts. In light of that, here are the Top 10 reasons the Cabinet could use to shut down the development of the largest economic engine Florida has seen in decades.
10. The mega-mall developer followed every rule of the process to the letter — They must be hiding something.
9. The mega-mall could become one of Florida’s most successful tourist attractions — That seems unfair to some of our less successful tourist attractions. What will happen to Gatorland, after all?
8. The mega-mall will be in Miami-Dade County — Is that even in Florida?
7. The mega-mall is paying fair-market value for the land — Fair market value just isn’t fair enough.
6. The mega-mall will only create 25,000 construction jobs — We were expecting at least 25,001.
5. The mega-mall will only create 25,000 permanent new jobs — (See Above)
4. The mega-mall will generate more than $100 million a year in new local and state tax revenues — The state of Florida really doesn’t need any more money.
3. The two sister mega-mall projects in West Edmonton, Canada, and in Minnesota each attract more than 40 million visitors a year. American Dream Miami will be even larger than those — Building this could hurt our relations with the Minnesota and Canadian governments.
2. The mega-mall will have a vast number of family entertainment options, including a water park, submarine ride, miniature golf, bowling, a giant Ferris wheel, a performing-arts theater, a motion picture sound stage, restaurants, cinemas, and the largest indoor ski slope in the world — Some of us don’t know how to ski.
1. And the number one reason the Cabinet could use to reject the mega-mall land sale: The mega-mall just isn’t MEGA enough for Florida!
