PREIT, the troubled owner of malls throughout the region including Center City’s Fashion District Philadelphia, filed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday aimed at unlocking $150 million in new borrowing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. PREIT, whose initials stand for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, said in a news release that it will continue operations without interruption while it obtains necessary approvals for the plan. The Chapter 11 petition comes about two weeks after the company first outlined the restructuring plan, saying it aimed to avoid a bankruptcy filing by persuading all of its lenders to back the proposal. It ultimately received support from 95 percent of its creditors, it said in the release. “With the overwhelming support of our lenders, we look forward to quickly emerging from this process as a financially stronger company with the resources and support to continue creating diverse, multiuse ecosystems throughout our portfolio,” PREIT chief executive Joseph F. Coradino said. Under the deal, PREIT would put up properties that it owns free and clear as collateral for its $919 million in existing unsecured debt and the $150 million in new borrowing. That would mean PREIT’s lenders could foreclose on those properties if it defaulted. PREIT is the biggest mall owner in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, with 4.7 million square feet of space under management in the region, according to market tracker CoStar Group.
