Ian Ritter is national online editor of GlobeSt.RETAIL.

ARLINGTON, VA-The Mills Corp. is spending $590.3 million on projects currently under construction, and the REIT's pipeline calls for more new developments across the country as well as in Canada and Europe. Including contributions by joint-venture partners, the total cost of the Mills centers being built is $834.8 million.

Mills broke ground this week on Meadowlands Xanadu, a mixed-use development with 2.2 million sf of retail-entertainment in East Rutherford, NJ. In July it is opening Pittsburgh Mills, a 1.1 million-sf retail-entertainment center in that city's suburbs. Mills is also expanding its 2.2 million-sf Sawgrass Mills by 110,000 sf, adding an upscale lifestyle component called the Colonnade.

The locally based company could start construction some time this year on 108 North State St., a mixed-use project in Downtown Chicago with 417,000 sf of retail-entertainment as well as 400,000 sf of office space. Mills could also start construction on Mercati Generali, an 830,000-sf retail entertainment center in Rome, Italy, some time this year, company officials said during their year-end, 2004 conference call yesterday.