Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.
CHICAGO-Mall owner General Growth Properties, no stranger to redeveloping its assets, is looking at renovating and adding to 45 of its shopping centers at a cost of $1.4 billion, said CEO John Bucksbaum during its Q4 conference call yesterday. Last year, the company undertook 27 redevelopments at a cost of $380 million, which added 1.2 million sf to its portfolio.
"The mall remains a favorite destination for both the consumer and the retailer as long as we reinvest," Bucksbaum said. "We have expanded our ability to provide the retailers with what they want."
For the first time since acquiring the Rouse Co. in November for $12.6 billion, General Growth officials also announced that they intend to keep the four master-planned communities the company gained in that deal. Those developments are Columbia, MD; Summerlin in Las Vegas; Bridgelands in Houston; and Woodlands, near Houston. (While GGP owns the first three outright, it holds a partial interest in the Woodlands.)
Occupancy at General Growth malls has reached a record high of 92.1%. The addition of the 37 Rouse malls could even boost that, said Robert Michaels, the company's president and CEO. "We're seeing a real pent-up demand from major retailers for space in those properties," he said.
The average sales per-sf in General Growth's portfolio last year were $410 versus $351 the year before. (Its Ala Moana Center in Honolulu climbed over $1,300 per sf.) Average rent jumped from $31.83 per sf to $33.53.
During 2004, funds from operations per fully diluted share were up nearly 20% from the year before, to $2.77. Net operating income over the company's Q4 was $501.4 million, up from $333.4 million during the same year-ago period.
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