There are hundreds of "zombie" malls throughout the U.S. that are more dead than alive, the Wall Street Journal reported. The older, low-end ones have lost at least half and, in some cases, more than 70% of their value since the industry’s peak in late 2016, according to real-estate research firm Green Street. As values fall below the balances of their outstanding debt, owners usually stop paying the mortgages and look to either renegotiate with their lenders or hand back the keys. Green Street estimates about 150 enclosed malls have closed since the supply peaked in 2008, leaving about 950 remaining today. The firm predicts more than a third of these will close over the next 15 to 20 years. Read more. (Subscription required.)
Occupancy issues are at the heart of many significant retail cases, as detailed in the ABI publication Retail and Office Bankruptcy: Landlord/Tenant Rights, available at the ABI Store.