Mills Corp

Vornado Realty Trust might be set to gobble up all or part of the Mills Corp., the troubled developer of the giant Arundel Mills mall in Hanover. New York-based Vornado confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday that the company's management "has had an informal dialogue with management of The Mills Corp." Vornado first disclosed the news during a conference call Monday with investment analysts. That set off reports that Vornado might be interest in buying Mills, which has announced it is up for sale in whole or in part.

Financially strapped Mills Corp., the Chevy Chase mall developer that owns Arundel Mills and Marley Station, agreed yesterday to be bought by a Canadian investment company in a deal valued at $7.5 billion. Mills said the purchase would help address the company's mounting debt and accounting irregularities that nearly landed it in bankruptcy. Under the deal, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. of Toronto will pay $21 a share, or $1.35 billion, for all of Mills' shares. The $7.5 billion deal includes debt and preferred stock.

The Arlington-based Mills Corp. announced yesterday that it plans to open its more than 200-store Arundel Mills mall by the fall of 2000 near Baltimore-Washington International Airport.County Executive Janet S. Owens will follow through with a commitment made by former County Executive John G. Gary and borrow $28 million this year, starting July 1, to build roads and sewers for the development, said Ron McGuirk, co-leader of Owens' transition team.McGuirk said an analysis of the arrangement shows it is a good deal for the county because the mall will generate millions in tax revenue.

Mills Corp. shares plunged to a 5 1/2 -year low yesterday after the developer said earnings restatements are likely to reduce net income by $210 million, and the cost of a New Jersey project has soared to $2 billion. Mills shares fell $6.68, or 29 percent, to $15.91. Shares of the Chevy Chase-based company, which owns Arundel Mills and other very large malls, have dropped 62 percent this year, compared with an 11 percent increase in the Bloomberg Real Estate Investment Trust Index. Mills, the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission accounting investigation, said in a filing yesterday that cost overruns at its Xanadu entertainment development at the New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex would push the price to $2 billion from its earlier $1.3 billion estimate.

Their arguments have been called extremist, alarmist and off-the-wall. But claims by a newly formed group that the proposed Arundel Mills mall will destroy the Piney Run watershed and create traffic gridlock are based on the impacts associated with a similar mall in Virginia.While Prince William County officials view Potomac Mills mall as an economic success, others say the shopping complex has led to deterioration of nearby Potomac River tributaries and has been a major contributor to the area's notorious traffic snarls.

Financially strapped Mills Corp., the Chevy Chase mall developer that owns Arundel Mills and Marley Station, agreed yesterday to be bought by a Canadian investment company in a deal valued at $7.5 billion. Mills said the purchase would help address the company's mounting debt and accounting irregularities that nearly landed it in bankruptcy. Under the deal, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. of Toronto will pay $21 a share, or $1.35 billion, for all of Mills' shares. The $7.5 billion deal includes debt and preferred stock.

Even as bulldozers are clearing trees for a proposed mega-mall in Hanover, opponents of the 1.4 million-square-foot Arundel Mills shopping complex are stepping up efforts to stop construction.Convinced that many northwest Anne Arundel County residents aren't aware that county officials approved the $250 million development a year ago, a newly organized group has launched a last-minute door-to-door information campaign.Today, they plan to finish a weekend sweep through Severn, Jessup, Hanover and Harmans to distribute about 5,000 fliers outlining their objections to the mall.

As attractions go, it's bigger than Disneyland. It draws bus loads of tourists with money to spend. And, like the Anaheim, Calif., granddaddy of theme parks, it promises hours of family entertainment and total sensory overload -- from videos to virtual games. But Ontario Mills, 40 miles east of Los Angeles, is neither theme park nor Disney creation.To its Arlington, Va.-based developers, the huge value mall represents the next generation of outlet shopping centers. The Mills Corp., which wants to build a smaller-scale version of Ontario Mills near Baltimore-Washington International Airport, has spent more than a decade inventing and fine-tuning its mall hybrid.

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- At Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, a store the size of a Wal-Mart, fishing rods by the hundreds point skyward from their shelves, catfish wind their way through an indoor pond, shiny powerboats spin on revolving stands and golfers practice swings on a putting green.But none of that mattered to 9-year-old Tyler McConnell, who cared only about hitting a bull's eye in the Old West Shootn' Arcade. With his father's help, Tyler gripped one of the arcade's laser guns, peered at mechanical wild animals running amok through an old log cabin and squeezed the trigger, adding to the cacophony of pings and screeches.

By next winter, Arundel Mills customers can finish their shopping and relax with a board slide and a couple of heel-flips. Executives for ESPN Inc. and The Mills Corp. announced they have joined forces to build a skateboarding park at the mega-mall in Hanover. The 50,000-square-foot facility will include skating "bowls" for gravity-defying skating tricks as well as areas for bicycling and in-line skating. Executives at the companies said they were unsure when construction would begin.

Vornado Realty Trust might be set to gobble up all or part of the Mills Corp., the troubled developer of the giant Arundel Mills mall in Hanover. New York-based Vornado confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday that the company's management "has had an informal dialogue with management of The Mills Corp." Vornado first disclosed the news during a conference call Monday with investment analysts. That set off reports that Vornado might be interest in buying Mills, which has announced it is up for sale in whole or in part.

In The Region Mills Corp. to buy 50% stake in 9 malls, two of them in Md. Mall developer Mills Corp. will acquire a 50 percent interest in nine malls from General Motors Asset Management Corp., a unit of General Motors Corp., for about $1.03 billion before transaction costs. Mills, a real estate investment trust in Arlington, Va., said yesterday that it is buying the stake because of the malls' "high quality, attractive yields and potential for increased productivity." Two of the properties are in Maryland: Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg and Marley Station in Glen Burnie.

IT LOOKED like a famous victory. Maryland hoisted itself from the floor, shook off the stupor and swiped a big corporate headquarters from Virginia for the first time in years, possibly decades. Mills Corp., which operates the Arundel Mills and Potomac Mills malls and billions of dollars' worth of other retail properties, said late last month that it would switch its address and 325 employees from Arlington, Va., to a super-upscale spot in Chevy Chase. Nobody at Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development could remember the last time something like this happened.

By next winter, Arundel Mills customers can finish their shopping and relax with a board slide and a couple of heel-flips. Executives for ESPN Inc. and The Mills Corp. announced they have joined forces to build a skateboarding park at the mega-mall in Hanover. The 50,000-square-foot facility will include skating "bowls" for gravity-defying skating tricks as well as areas for bicycling and in-line skating. Executives at the companies said they were unsure when construction would begin.

By next winter, Arundel Mills customers can finish their shopping and relax with a board slide and a couple of heel-flips. Executives for ESPN Inc. and The Mills Corp. announced they have joined forces to build a skateboarding park at the mega-mall in Hanover. The 50,000-square-foot facility will include skating "bowls" for gravity-defying skating tricks as well as areas for bicycling and in-line skating. Executives at the companies -which announced the partnership this week - said they were unsure when construction would begin.

Heller to seek re-election to Circuit Court bench Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Robert H. Heller Jr. said yesterday he will seek re-election to the bench. Heller, 59, said he has written to Gov. Parris N. Glendening expressing his desire for a second 15-year term. He was appointed to the bench in 1984, and won election to a first term in 1986. Last year, two sitting judges were unopposed on the ballot. Heller's decision to seek another term is likely to deter other candidates, lawyers said.

Mills Corp. officials know to the second how little time is left until the opening of their Arundel Mills megamall. They're reminded every day that the minutes are speeding by until the 1.6- million-square-foot structure opens its doors and until an estimated 100,000 shoppers get a first look at the project responsible for transforming 380 rural acres west of Baltimore-Washington International Airport into a retail complex expected to attract more than...

Anne Arundel Community College is expanding its campus with a $10 million educational facility planned for construction near Arundel Mills to meet the demand in growing West County. The 65,000-square-foot, four-story building will be north of the mega-mall's Muvico Movie Theater, a prime location to attract more West County residents who often attend closer community colleges in Howard or Prince George's counties. "This is making it easier for people," AACC spokeswoman Fran Turcott said yesterday.