New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says the ugliest building in the state will get a new exterior as part of a deal to finish developing the troubled, multibillion-dollar Xanadu retail and entertainment complex at the Meadowlands.

At a town-hall event in Nutley yesterday, Christie said the first thing that must be done is change the multicolored, multipatterned exterior.

Christie called the complex the ugliest building in the state “and possibly America” and “a reminder of the failure” of the sprawling, $2 billion complex, which was originally slated to open in 2007.