12-Story Indoor Ski Park Planned For Meadowlands Mega Mall

The indoor ski and snowboard park at the American Dream Meadowlands will be 12 stories tall and be open 365 days a year, developer Triple Five announced Monday.

At the ski park's center will be an 800-foot long indoor hill, the first in the Western Hemisphere. The park will be 180,000 square feet. Surrounding the hill will be a collection of ski and snowboard retail stores Triple Five has dubbed "The Shops @ Big SNOW."

"Big SNOW America will redefine what is possible in terms of the skiing and snowboarding guest experience," said Joe Hession, CEO of SNOW Operating. "I have no doubt that American Dream will instantly become an iconic destination for the New York Metropolitan area and beyond."

Related: 'Most Expensive Retail Project On Earth' Coming To Meadowlands In 2017

The 180,000-square-foot park will be at one end of what's been described as "the most expensive retail project on earth."

American Dream is designed to cater to people young and old. It will feature an indoor DreamWorks water park, an amusement park, a 4-D immersive experience movie theater, and indoor aquarium, and an NHL-size ice rink. There have been talks of a casino opening as well.

More than 450 retail, food, and speciality shops will be a part of the 91-acre American Dream campus when it opens in the summer of 2017.

Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Off 5th, and Hermes are just some of the high-end retailers that will be part of The Collections wing.

The $5 billion project is expected to add 20,000 jobs to the North Jersey area and compete with New York City as the go-to tourist destination in the area.

A commuter shuttle will run between the station NJ Transit operates at the Meadowlands and the Secaucus train station. NJ Transit will also operate a direct bus line from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City to American Dream.