The Mall of America has closed on a $300 million financing deal for an expansion plan that includes a new luxury hotel, an office tower, more upscale retail space, a new food hall concept, and a new underground parking ramp.
 
Vice President of Public Relations Dan Jasper told Twin Cities Business that construction on the project will begin later this month and is expected to finish by August 2015.
 
The new hotel will reportedly occupy 300,000 square feet, while Jasper said the office tower will be about 180,000 square feet and the new retail space will occupy 150,000 square feet. All together, Jasper said the expansion will add 700,000 square feet to the mall.
 
Details of how the new hotel will be branded remain under wraps until the groundbreaking, Jasper said. However, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) announced in May that it was in talks with the mall to finance a luxury hotel on the north side of the building. At the time, the hotel was expected to house about 330 rooms.
 
Jasper said Golden Valley-based Mortenson Construction was the mall’s partner on the entire project, although he didn’t disclose whether the SMSC had financed the hotel or planned to own or operate it.
 
This is the Mall of America’s second sizeable hotel. The mall opened the first last March—a 13-story, 500-room upscale hotel called Radisson Blu, which cost $137.5 million.