Surge in store closures prompts some shopping-center owners to walk away from troubled locations
By Esther Fung | The Wall Street Journal
More mall landlords are choosing to walk away from struggling properties, leaving creditors in the lurch and posing a threat to the values of nearby real estate.
As competition from online shopping batters retailers, some of the largest U.S. landlords are calculating it is more advantageous to hand over ownership to lenders than to attempt to restructure debts on properties with darkening outlooks.
That, in turn, leaves lenders with little choice but to unload the distressed properties at fire-sale prices.
