The American Dream megamall racked up a $55.7 million increase in gross sales during the first half of this year as it mounts a comeback from the impact of the pandemic and amid disputes over payments relating to its bonds.

The large retail and entertainment complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, generated $249 million in sales from January through June, compared with $193.3 million in the same period last year, according to regulatory filings, representing nearly 29% growth.

Revenue in the second quarter was $132.7 million, up about $29.3 million from the second quarter in 2022. First-quarter sales this year reached $116.3 million, about $26.5 million above the first quarter last year, according to the filings.

"As for the increase, our sales figures are in line with the major uptick in traffic that we have been seeing this year," an American Dream spokeswoman said in an email to CoStar News. "We fully expect the numbers to continue to rise in dramatic fashion as the world is now waking up to what American Dream is all about."

The property, which is 85% leased, will be welcoming retailers Canada Goose, JD Sports, COS, Soma, Gucci and Balenciaga soon, she said, as well as expanding its restaurant and food offerings with Marcus Live by Marcus Samuelson; Around the Clock, serving American cuisine; and the H Mart Asian food hall.

Like many retail venues, American Dream, a 3.5 million-square-foot complex developed and operated by Canada's Triple Five Group, was hurt by monthslong closings in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It was an especially big blow to American Dream, which had just opened and was in the process of rolling out its stores and attractions, which now include an indoor water park, an indoor amusement park, a ski dome, an observation wheel and an aquarium.

American Dream's revenue growth follows years of financial challenges. In 2021, Triple Five defaulted on loans for the property. The developer had put up 49% stakes in two of its other megamalls, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and West Edmonton Mall in Canada, as collateral on those loans, and according to Bloomberg News, it forfeited those stakes.

There have been other travails. In some cases, there were delays in fulfilling debt-service obligations for bonds tied to the mall, and American Dream maintained that a New Jersey state agency was holding up the payments and that it wasn't responsible. But American Dream got a major reprieve in November of last year when a group led by JPMorgan Chase extended the term for $1.7 billion in construction financing that the complex owed. That debt now matures in October 2026.

Then in April this year, a judge ruled that a group of American Dream's junior lenders had the right to collect at least $392 million in defaulted debt for the development.

The roughly $5 billion project has persevered and has been adding more tenants to its roster, including some notable and unique ones this year. In July, the reborn Babies R Us chain opened its only U.S. flagship at the megamall, which is now also the home of the only standalone U.S. Toys R Us store. That brick-and-mortar location debuted in December 2021. The Paradox Museum, part of an immersive experience chain, opened at the complex in late July.

Just this week there were also several new retail openings at American Dream, including a Ferrari store that opened in The Avenue, the property's luxury retail wing, according to the megamall's spokeswoman. In a report released on Wednesday, JLL said that U.S. malls are increasingly dedicating separate areas for upscale stores, citing The Avenue as an example. The Avenue is anchored by the Garden State's only Saks Fifth Avenue.

On Friday, Chinese retailer Pop Mart held a grand opening event for its first permanent store in the United States, which is located at American Dream. It sells what it describes as "art in toy form," including designer toy characters such as Molly, Hirono, The Monsters and Skullpanda.

To complete the construction of American Dream, there were multiple bond offerings in June 2017, raising more than $1 billion. The largest class of bonds was a $500 million PILOT, or payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, offering issued by the Wisconsin Public Finance Authority, even though the project is located in New Jersey. PILOT bonds are a type of security where debt payments are made to a government body to compensate for lost property tax revenue. They are often used in economic development projects.

The $500 million offering has been the most actively traded of the bonds. And the pricing of those trades has followed the ups and downs of the complex. When expectations for the project were high in its first few years, prices exceeded the initial offering price by as much as 20%, according to data compiled by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, bond prices traded at nearly 20% below the initial price.

In the summer of 2022, the issue of tardy debt-service payments relating to the outstanding bonds surfaced, and their trustee warned of default risk. During that time, bond prices were trading at their lowest value of nearly 40% below the initial price.

This summer, prices have settled in at about 91% of the initial value.

The borough of East Rutherford sued American Dream earlier this year, alleging that Triple Five had failed to make millions of dollars in PILOT payments that were due. Both American Dream and the borough declined to comment on the status of the litigation Friday.