Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Md., filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition this month and put forth a reorganization plan to decrease its debts by about $880 million, the Frederick News-Post reported. Francis Scott Key Mall will be unaffected by the bankruptcy proceedings, Richard Chelsey, an attorney representing PREIT, said on Wednesday. The chapter 11 petition, which the company filed voluntarily, allows for financial restructuring within the company, with court oversight, to pay creditors. The plan it is implementing should have the company out of bankruptcy by early February 2024, a press release from PREIT said. The company operates two other malls in Maryland: Valley Mall near Hagerstown, and the Mall at Prince George’s in Hyattsville. It also owns Springfield Town Center in Virginia, as well as other malls in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, South Carolina, North Carolina and Michigan. All of the malls will remain open during the bankruptcy proceedings. According to the petition, PREIT has up to 49 creditors, and owes between $1 billion and $10 billion.
