Catching Up With GGP

The once-bleak story at General Growth Properties has changed dramatically, and now it sounds like the firm has a lot of exciting plans. Sandeep Mathrani, chief executive at the firm since October, outlined what GGP has in the works at the recent REITWeek conference in New York City.

• GGP expects to do about $1 billion in asset sales this year, and it sounds as if management is veering toward getting out of the class-B-mall business. When asked if he would only want to own class A assets, Mathrani replied: “That would be a good strategy.”
• However, he sees a stronger tenant demand from retailers looking to enter B malls. He also called the recent International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon show “probably my best ICSC ever.”
• Unlike the team before him, Mathrani said he is not fond of putting condos on a mall site. That said, he would like to do about $1.5 billion in retail redevelopments over the next three to five years.
• Executives are considering a move into the outlet-mall business, but only if they are involved in a joint venture. Another possibility is converting a lagging mall into an outlet center.
• We could see more deals like the one it recently completed with The Macerich Co. that gave it the ownership of six anchor stores at its centers. “We need to control our anchors,” Mathrani said. “That gives us the greatest amount of flexibility.”
• Mathrani acknowledged that GGP’s occupancy lags some of its peers, but he said much of that has to do with catching up from the firm’s bankruptcy period, which ended last fall. That is now changing, he said. “We’re making up for lost time at a very rapid pace.”