Triple Five Group history

The Ghermezians began developing the West Edmonton Mall in 1974.

The Ghermezians made an $18 million profit when the Albertan government purchased the land in 1979, and much of that profit was used to finance their first retail project, the West Edmonton Mall.

1986-92: Selling the Mega-Mall Model

Finally in November 1987 Triple Five Group announced that it had partnered with American retail developer Melvin Simon and Associates of Indianapolis and with Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) to finance the project.

In December 1988, Triple Five proposed building a megamall in Moscow, competing with the Cyrus Eaton Group's similar proposal in Leningrad.

1989: Triple Five breaks ground for the Mall of America.

The Ghermezians held a 50% stake in the complex, alongside Confederation Life Insurance, which bought Triple Five's share of the development for $1 in 1991.

The project was intended to be completed by 1993, but was never approved.

1994-96: Financial Questions and Silver Spring Proposal

Triple Five’s PR image in Silver Spring improved somewhat, when in November 1995 an independent consultant’s report gave the company’s finances a positive report, indicating that their main asset, the West Edmonton Mall, was financially healthy.

Although founder Jacob Ghermezian died in January 2000 at the age of 97, his sons continued doing business in the “Outside the box” spirit with which their father founded the company.

2001: West Edmonton Mall records its best year ever.

The company had previously attempted to develop the site, having made a proposal for "MeadowFest America" in 2002 before construction on Meadowlands Xanadu began.

Simon was forced to sell the 27.5% stake to Triple Five when the case was decided in 2003, making Triple Five the majority owner of the mall it had developed and operated.

Triple Five announced in 2004 that its next major project would be the Great Mall of Las Vegas.

In 2005, Triple Five also attempted to enter the Chinese retail market with two proposed projects: the Mall of China in Dalian, and the Triple Five Wenzhou Mall in Wenzhou.

The project was approved by local authorities in early 2008 and was expected to begin construction by the end of the year.

Mark Ghermezian founded Appboy, a mobile marketing automation company based in New York City, in 2011.

The mall was intended to open in fall 2013, but legal disputes with the New York Giants and Jets and financial setbacks have continually delayed construction.

Triple Five announced American Dream Miami in 2015, a project in Miami-Dade County, Florida which would become the largest mall in the United States if built.

As of May 2018, the proposal for American Dream Miami has been approved by local authorities, but construction on the mall has not yet begun, pending regulatory approval.

The mall opened on October 25, 2019.