The proponents have been working nearly five years to overcome cost, permitting and site challenges to advance the super-sized Lac Mirabel, which will be built on a 320-acre site alongside Autoroute 15 heading towards the Laurentian resort area. Likened in scope to the Alberta's West Edmonton Mall--deemed the world's largest shopping center--and the Mall of America in Minnesota, Lac Mirabel will be anchored by outdoor-gear outfitter Cabela's in a 170,000-sf expanse.

There will also be a 100,000-sf Montreal Caldea Spa; 60,000-sf electric kart track; and KidTropolis, a 70,000-sf "indoor city" billed as an educational program that also serves to keep the younger set pre-occupied.

Both Gordon and Stahl are well schooled in large retail and entertainment construction initiatives, with Gordon Group having built the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; Bridgemarket in New York City; and the Beverly Center in Los Angeles in tandem with Taubman Centers. Stahl, meanwhile, oversaw the West Edmonton Mall development prior to shifting his focus towards Lac Mirabel. US-based Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services and advisory company whose clients have invested billions of dollars in commercial real estate properties and securities.