DestiNY USA.... Nothing Like it in the World
This is the main logo for DestiNY
USA, the newest upcoming main attraction in the nation -- situated in
Syracuse, NY, located in upstate
New York. It is not quite a mall, though it is "a
behemoth of a shoping, tourism and
entertainment complex that will take up more square footage than two
Empire State Buildings" (
NY times article 6/24/02). It is promised to be bigger than Minnesota's
Mall of America.
From the official site http://www.aboutdestiny.com:
"Opening in 2004, DestiNY USA will be the most exciting retail and travel destination in the United States. This one-of-a-kind
resort destination will attract millions of people from all over the world."
"The Experience DestiNY
Center will itself be a destination point - a must see
attraction. This center will serve as the epicenter of
tourism for the entire Upstate New York region linking people and tourism attractions together. It will be a place where anyone in the world can
communicate and interact, either in person or electronically, all year long and will
promote all of Upstate New York as an
internationally recognized tourism destination. Once here, visitors will be awed by the facility, programs,
convenience and staff trained to provide unmatched
customer care. After learning about all of the many marvels of
Upstate New York, from
Niagara Falls to the
1000 Islands to the Erie
Canal Corridor, from the
Finger Lakes Region to the
Adirondack Park, they will be seamlessly transported to any one of the thousands of tourism areas"
The mall will include, among many many things, a
saltwater aquarium, rock and ice climbing
mountains, a 65-acre park under a dome similar to a
Biosphere, a movie theater of 20 screens, concert hall, two
broadway style theaters, and a minature
Erie Canal (NY Times article).
This is a $2.2
billion project. The developer, Robert
Congel has planned for DestiNY USA to open summer of 2004 and projects the mall to attract 40 million visitors a year. Congel says that the mall will generate up to $12.5 billion in annual
economic activitiy and may create up to 122,000 jobs.
Originally from
Syracuse, Congel owns his own company,
Pyramid Management Group, which has built malls all around the
Northeast. Ideas like the "upstate's glaring need for
economic jumper cables," have allowed Congel to recieve extensive tax breaks, to allow him to pursue his project.
My views? Well, right now the famous
Carousel Center mall, located in Syracuse, is big enough, I think. While attending
Cornell university, about an hour south of Syracuse, I have visited Carousel
Mall two times. It is a huge mall that caters to all my needs. I am slightly horrified by this new mall, and amazed that it will be bigger than the
Mall of America.