Retail giant Macerich has landed a $487 million refinancing for its Kings Plaza Shopping Center amid a bleak environment for malls.
The money for the recently redeveloped Brooklyn mall came from JPMorgan Chase and includes almost $60 million in new financing, according to property records. Macerich had alluded to an expected refinancing of Kings Plaza in its third quarter earnings call, but the company did not specify the lender or the price.
Macerich CEO Thomas E. O’Hern (Credit: Macerich)
Representatives for Macerich did not respond to a request for comment. JPMorgan Chase declined to comment.
Macerich purchased the Mill Basin shopping center in 2012 from Vornado Realty Trust for $751 million. A fire tore through a parking garage at the property last September, injuring almost two dozen people. It did not spread to any stores.
The company also landed a $300 million refinancing from MetLife for its Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall in Rosemont at the beginning of the year.
Malls have recently been struggling to deal with retail closures and bankruptcies as consumers shift toward e-commerce. Regional mall real estate investment trusts posted annual losses of 13.5 percent, according to September data from Barclays, and some experts think that retail’s struggles could decrease the number of U.S. malls to just a few hundred from roughly 1,200 today.
Fashion retailer Forever 21, for instance, declared bankruptcy in September and will close its store in Kings Plaza as part of its restructuring.
However, Macerich executive Jesse Franklin made headlines in May when he said the “retail apocalypse is a good thing” on a panel at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas.
“It’s calling out all of those retailers that haven’t invested in their brand, that aren’t connecting with customers,” he said, “and it’s going to allow us to bring in a new set of retailers that are actually much more connected to customers and allow our centers to thrive.”