Hi,

We’re excited to announce that Ken Downing, chief creative officer of Triple Five Group, is coming to Code Commerce.

Long known as the company behind Minnesota’s Mall of America, Triple Five is now developing the most ambitious mall project yet: New Jersey’s American Dream Meadowlands, set to open this October.

The American Dream is a blended retail-entertainment experience, with the first indoor ski slope in North America, a giant water park, multiple roller coasters, and, of course, lots of shopping.

A longtime veteran of Neiman Marcus, Downing is the perfect person to talk to about the reinvention of the American mall. We’ll ask him how malls are reimagining themselves as entertainment centers at a time when malls across the country are closing and online shopping is exploding — and how traditional retailers fit in.