General Growth files for Chapter 11 protection

By Mark Hansel (contact), In Business reporter

Fri, Apr 24, 2009 (2 a.m.)

General Growth Properties finally collapsed under the weight of its massive debt and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.

Also filing for protection were 158 regional shopping centers owned by General Growth and some other subsidiaries.

The company is voluntarily seeking relief to reduce and restructure its debt, which is estimated at $27 billion.

Company officials say the decision to file for Chapter 11 will have little or no effect on the day-to-day operations of its properties.

“Our shopping centers and other properties will continue to offer the same great visitor experience for which our company is so well known,” Adam Metz, CEO of General Growth, said in a statement.

General Growth owns three Strip properties: the Fashion Show mall, the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and the Shoppes at the Palazzo. It also owns the Meadows and Boulevard malls and the Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin.

James Graham, senior director of public affairs for General Growth, said the company continues its efforts to sell some of its key assets, including the Las Vegas area properties,

“That remains true,” Graham said. “We are interested in capital partners with some of our properties or possibly the sale of a property in its entirety.

“The most important thing we would like to communicate to our customers at our stores in Las Vegas and at the Summerlin master-planned community is that they should not expect any significant changes as a result of this filing.”

General Growth, the country’s second-largest real estate investment trust at the time of the filing, operates more than 200 malls in 44 states.