Developer about to redo Columbia faces cash crunch

Under the plan General Growth has outlined, the area around The Mall in Columbia and Merriweather Post Pavilion would be transformed from mostly parking lots and little-used open spaces into a more urban, pedestrian-friendly space. The plan calls for 1 million square feet of new retail space, 4.9 million square feet of office space, and 5,500 new townhouses and apartments, as well as more hotel rooms and cultural amenities.

Instead of having a handful of rock concerts each year, Merriweather could become like Wolf Trap, the Northern Virginia venue that books a variety of popular and cultural shows, Hamm said.

The $12.6 billion acquisition of the Rouse Company left General Growth with significant debt, making the Chicago-based company more vulnerable to the national financial squeeze, analysts have said. The firm, which owns White Marsh Mall, Owings Mills Mall, Towson Town Center, the Village of Cross Keys and Mondawmin Mall, announced Monday that it needs to sell assets or find other ways to raise cash.

Hamm pointed out that GGP owns more than 200 properties comprising 200 million square feet of real estate that is 93 percent leased. He noted that when Bun Penny, a popular deli and specialty foods store, closed in The Mall in Columbia, a new business leased the space quickly and is paying higher rent.

"We've got very good assets and lots of locations," he said.

New shopping malls are no longer being built, so firms that own malls - like General Growth - are looking at redevelopment projects as the best way to grow.

"Columbia is a market that should offer great growth potential," he said after the two-hour meeting at the Ellicott City Senior Center.

Hamm pointed out that the plan GGP submits is subject to the county government approval process.

"The cake ain't baked," he said. "We're sticking it in the oven now."