- Report: #270764
Complaint Review: Highland Mall - Austin Texas
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Highland Mall
6001 Airport Blvd. Austin, 78752 Texas, U.S.A.
Phone:
512-451-2920
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Highland Mall Rip-Off Merchants, Vehicle Burglaries, Intimidating Atmosphere Austin Texas
The cops used to call it "Highland Hoodlum Mall" because that is where the equal opportunity thugs and other losers would all gather. Somehow, they would cut school and end up there. Or they would already have dropped out ( most of them were from Reagan or Johnson High Schools or Pearce Middle School, although not all...), some were apparently undocumented immigrants from nowhere in Texas, it didn't really matter.
The loitering people apparently don't have much money but still they showed up and intimidated those who wanted to be LEFT IN PEACE TO SHOP! Not that there was anything that the stores had that you could buy --- mainly they had a bunch of cheap goods in too-small sizes (SIZE ZERO CLOTHES --ANOREXIA, ANYBODY?) designed to appeal to young kids with no sense of value or economics and apparently unlimited pocketbooks to look at the hefty price tags on these abbreviated items of schmattes!
The latest look in clothing was long arms and an exaggerated cropped top that ended somewhere around the lower bra line!And SKIRTS that were shorter than some underwear! No point in naming these merchants because they know who they are and I know that they need that huge a mark-up to pay the overhead and the salespeople who don't know very much and could care less as long as they get their minimum wage checks... and are rude to people who come in who they don't think are "trendy" or "young" or "hip" enough while the shoplifters rip them off big time!
My wealthy Jewish uncle who had a series of stores used to say " If you come in my store with $100 in your pocket and leave with that $100 in your pocket, I haven't done my job!"
Well, except to make great window displays and stock clothing merchandise that is about NOTHING AT ALL, you people sure haven't done your job of having AFFORDABLE merchandise in sizes that REAL PEOPLE WEAR!
I wish I could count the times I went into Highland Mall with a lot more than $100 and never touched my pocket because there was NOTHING to buy that I could wear or that made sense to buy that I could not get at Big Lots or Wal-Mart or some other big volume DISCOUNTER a lot cheaper --SAME IDENTICAL MERCHANDISE! Less the several thousand percent mark-up! Who do these so-called merchants at the Mall think they are kidding! They are usually messing with their hair, outside smoking a cigarette, gabbing on the cell phone or being rude to the customers so they can do something else.
The one time I did NOT keep my money in my pocket, I ENDED UP BEING RIPPED OFF BY THE RADIO SHACK ( aka RAT SHACK) when they sold me a burned out demo computer as a new one and it was probably burned up by an employee who was trying to erase some porn off the hard drive OR it might have been an employee or friends owned computer that was substituted for an in-store computer and I was victimized that way! The GANGSTA rap music playing obscenities and profanities when I came into their store computer shopping in the first place should have been a rip-off. THEY RIPPED ME OFF $900 AND THIS IS NOT SOMETHING REPUTABLE MERCHANTS DO! Made absolutely NO Attempt to reimburse me or to replace the computer either.
Parking is a bad experience and After the latest BIG gang fight, it's not too difficult to find a parking place. When you return and your vehicle is keyed (hey,paint jobs are expensive!) all the way to the primer or you find a smashed out window or headlight or tail light or slashed tire or your trunk is sprung or whatever and your stereo is gone...even you didn't leave anything in the vehicle that they could see to entice them to break in, they suspect that the goods are in the trunk or under the seat and that is what they go for. The latest thing they do is to get a spark plug in a sock and smash a window with real dark window tint --the tint holds the window together and they roll it out like a rug without even activating the auto alarm. Then they steal whatever they can without interference.
They broke into one car and one pickup that I owned. They didn't get anything because I keep my valuables hidden on my person but it was hell to replace the window glass. So much for Mall "security." Don't even bother to call the police. They won't come.
That's when I learned that the Mall has the sort of reputation all over town that it is considered "implied risk" when you go there and so no attorney will take the case if you want to sue the Mall management for damages -- or at least for compensation for putting your window glass back in and whatever else may have been vandalized.
Assuming you are able to park your car, the folks who resemble gangstas will demand money and threaten you verbally. Usually the guy in the "security" wagon with the blinking lights will drive past and give you a chance to make a run for the entrance of the Mall.
Even the homeless and the most aggressive panhandlers are afraid to come here.
Once inside, gangsta types will follow you and curse you and intimidate you and see if you will pull our cash or credit cards. that they can try to grab and run with... I am too afraid to use the Mall restrooms on the off chance I might get followed in there by a thug.
In case you don't get it, they might flash a .380 semi auto at you that they keep expertly hidden in their palm. That's a 9mm short bullet for those who don't know...Most of the gangstas carry at least a .380 or a 9 mm. And they carry them wherever they like... even to your friendly neighborhood MALL or is that MAUL? It seems like everybody has a concealed pistol EXCEPT the unarmed security and the shoppers. The shoppers that are stupid enough to come back here after one good gang fight or other INCIDENT!
I guess the only people who come here now are the senior citizens (who come before the Mall opens to the general public so they can walk for exercise), the employees,the loiterers, the gangstas and the professional BOOSTERS!
I was so put off by the mark-ups on the cheaply made, shoddy clothing and most everything else that I rarely went in there except to accompany a friend who was too afraid to go alone --except there was a video store named "Sun Coast" that would order animae for you. They moved out because of the SHOPLIFTERS! And did I mention PICKPOCKETS?
Every con artist in town has a sad tale and they check it out on Highland Mall customers! I don't fall prey to them because I stopped coming here to shop several months ago.
Unfortunately, I had to ride the bus and the bus stop is located on the west side of Highland Mall.
At the bus stop, the professional BOOSTERS will regale you with merchandise that is apparently freshly shoplifted from select merchants. Athletic shoes are crowd pleasers as are sunglasses, jewelry, mens colognes and I think they have other stuff but I don't want to get involved. I hear the BOOSTERS talk on the bus to go to certain stores because the merchants to maximize profits have untrained salesclerks there and the BOOSTERS can change price tags and walk right out with deep discounts because the underpaid salesclerks DO NOT GIVE A RAT! And they will gone before the police can get there,if you even consider calling the police...and you never know WHO is hearing you place that call either.
Why take a bullet or a shank when you don't even have hospitalization insurance and probably wouldn't get paid worker's comp?
The merchants just mark the prices up even higher to compensate their inventory for the "shrinkage." Even if they had something in my size, I wouldn't be able to afford it now for sure.
They have great variety on the food court but the gangstas will panhandle and try to eat your food when you aren't looking if they don't just take your order and run with it. I was just getting out my money to pay and my food disappeared! I ordered more and paid for that one. Security couldn't even begin to run fast enough to catch the dude. While you are eating, the gangstas will throw things at you, curse you in bilingual insults.stare rudely at you and threaten to beat you up, etc. NOT the great shopping experience that makes you want to return.
I have lost count of the many times I have seen the police and the security at the bus stop trying to break up confrontations between the crips and the bloods and the Latin Kings and whoever the hell else it is out there that wants to fight.
A local radio station put a poll on their website asking people how safe they felt shopping there and it turned out that NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE DID!
You can also get pushed and shoved in there. The tactic that purse snatchers seem to like to use but those of us with osteoarthritis find painful and intimidating since we have problems getting up and down anyway!
DON'T GO THERE AT NIGHT!
J.C. Penney's one of the original anchor tenants moved out almost a year ago and while I understand that there are many overpriced stores left selling near-useless merchandise left that the ENTIRE MALL IS SUPPOSED TO BE TORN DOWN TO MAKE WAY FOR SOME STUDENT HOUSING! SO THEY SAY!
Here is what the local daily newspaper says:
"Man shot, killed near Highland Mall
Monday, August 28, 2006, 05:45 AM
WEBshootinghighland.jpg
Austin police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man dead after an apparent argument.
Officers were summoned to a house in the 400 block of Denson Drive, near Highland Mall, after shots were fired around 2:30 a.m. Upon arrival, they learned a resident had called a relative after hearing noises outside the home, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said. When the relative arrived, he apparently got into an altercation with a man on the property and shot him.
The man who was shot was taken to Brackenridge Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have not yet released the deceased man's name."
AND:
"This morning I listened to comments and listener's calls on a morning radio talk show. The subject was the alarming incident at Highland Mall, April 2007,resulting in its early closing. Gangs were prowling the mall and fights broke out. Customers left in terror and were calling to say that they would never go back. Obviously, this violence was bad for business and may portend the demise of this popular mall.
Posted 4.10.2007 9:45:26 PM "
See it ALL at Highland Mall!
INCIDENTALLY, as of August 24,2007, HIGHLAND MALL WAS LOOKING FOR A NEW GENERAL MANAGER. I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD ONE!
Overview: General Growth Properties, Inc. has an immediate opening for a General Manager at Higland Mall, Austin, TX. General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT") and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol GGP. Headquartered in Chicago, GGP and its predecessor companies have been in the shopping center business for over fifty years.
People Creating Special Places and Experiences - This is our vision. This is what drives us. When you join General Growth Properties, you join a team of people who are passionate about creating the most exciting, vibrant and entertaining shopping centers and communities in the world.
At GGP, shopping is serious business. Our talented people create the exciting, enticing shopping experiences that keep our customers coming back and make GGP malls central to their communities. It takes a lot of creativity, energy, insight, and many types of professionals to sustain a thriving, long-standing leadership position in the ever-changing, highly competitive consumer marketplace.
Responsibilities:
The Job Duties include:
* General Manager manages the shopping center facility. Duties include: a.) Administers the leases and reciprocal easement agreements. b.) Maintains the common area. c.) Secures the common area. d.) Collects the rentals and recovery charges. e.) Prepares various reports requested by corporate office.
* General Manager prepares annual center budget. Duties include: a.) Forecasts the annual income and expenses for the center. b.) Expense control. c.) Approves disbursements in accordance with approved annual budget. d.) Maximizes the income generated by the center.
* General Manager participates in the leasing efforts of the center. Duties include: a.) Leases space to specialty/temporary retail merchants. b.) Coordinates the overall leasing effort with the corporate leasing representative to establish quality tenant mix. c.) Negotiates and administers lease amendments.
* General Manager manages the center personnel. Duties include: a.) Supervises and directs the Marketing Manager on issues of advertising and marketing for the center. b.) Supervises and directs the Operating Manager in the operation of maintenance and mechanical systems for the center. c.) Hires and trains support personnel as necessary. d.) Supervises independent contractors when such services have been engaged.
* General Manager maintains continuous dialogue with partners or non-equity owners, if applicable.
* General Manager performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications:
* Bachelor's Degree or related experience in the workforce.
* Real Estate Salesperson's license preferred.
* 2-5 years regional shopping center management experience.
* Ability to successfully canvass, negotiate and close specialty, regional and local leasing deals.
* Ability to lead a specialty leasing program.
* Strong ability to lead and influence a diverse group of people.
* Strategic business orientation.
Technical Skills & Training
* Adept in financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting.
* Excellent communication skills.
* Computer skills that include Excel, Microsoft Word, or other word processing programs.
* Strong merchant and community relations skills.
* The ability to work with and communicate effectively with tenants and contracted services personnel.
ANONYMOUS
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
The loitering people apparently don't have much money but still they showed up and intimidated those who wanted to be LEFT IN PEACE TO SHOP! Not that there was anything that the stores had that you could buy --- mainly they had a bunch of cheap goods in too-small sizes (SIZE ZERO CLOTHES --ANOREXIA, ANYBODY?) designed to appeal to young kids with no sense of value or economics and apparently unlimited pocketbooks to look at the hefty price tags on these abbreviated items of schmattes!
The latest look in clothing was long arms and an exaggerated cropped top that ended somewhere around the lower bra line!And SKIRTS that were shorter than some underwear! No point in naming these merchants because they know who they are and I know that they need that huge a mark-up to pay the overhead and the salespeople who don't know very much and could care less as long as they get their minimum wage checks... and are rude to people who come in who they don't think are "trendy" or "young" or "hip" enough while the shoplifters rip them off big time!
My wealthy Jewish uncle who had a series of stores used to say " If you come in my store with $100 in your pocket and leave with that $100 in your pocket, I haven't done my job!"
Well, except to make great window displays and stock clothing merchandise that is about NOTHING AT ALL, you people sure haven't done your job of having AFFORDABLE merchandise in sizes that REAL PEOPLE WEAR!
I wish I could count the times I went into Highland Mall with a lot more than $100 and never touched my pocket because there was NOTHING to buy that I could wear or that made sense to buy that I could not get at Big Lots or Wal-Mart or some other big volume DISCOUNTER a lot cheaper --SAME IDENTICAL MERCHANDISE! Less the several thousand percent mark-up! Who do these so-called merchants at the Mall think they are kidding! They are usually messing with their hair, outside smoking a cigarette, gabbing on the cell phone or being rude to the customers so they can do something else.
The one time I did NOT keep my money in my pocket, I ENDED UP BEING RIPPED OFF BY THE RADIO SHACK ( aka RAT SHACK) when they sold me a burned out demo computer as a new one and it was probably burned up by an employee who was trying to erase some porn off the hard drive OR it might have been an employee or friends owned computer that was substituted for an in-store computer and I was victimized that way! The GANGSTA rap music playing obscenities and profanities when I came into their store computer shopping in the first place should have been a rip-off. THEY RIPPED ME OFF $900 AND THIS IS NOT SOMETHING REPUTABLE MERCHANTS DO! Made absolutely NO Attempt to reimburse me or to replace the computer either.
Parking is a bad experience and After the latest BIG gang fight, it's not too difficult to find a parking place. When you return and your vehicle is keyed (hey,paint jobs are expensive!) all the way to the primer or you find a smashed out window or headlight or tail light or slashed tire or your trunk is sprung or whatever and your stereo is gone...even you didn't leave anything in the vehicle that they could see to entice them to break in, they suspect that the goods are in the trunk or under the seat and that is what they go for. The latest thing they do is to get a spark plug in a sock and smash a window with real dark window tint --the tint holds the window together and they roll it out like a rug without even activating the auto alarm. Then they steal whatever they can without interference.
They broke into one car and one pickup that I owned. They didn't get anything because I keep my valuables hidden on my person but it was hell to replace the window glass. So much for Mall "security." Don't even bother to call the police. They won't come.
That's when I learned that the Mall has the sort of reputation all over town that it is considered "implied risk" when you go there and so no attorney will take the case if you want to sue the Mall management for damages -- or at least for compensation for putting your window glass back in and whatever else may have been vandalized.
Assuming you are able to park your car, the folks who resemble gangstas will demand money and threaten you verbally. Usually the guy in the "security" wagon with the blinking lights will drive past and give you a chance to make a run for the entrance of the Mall.
Even the homeless and the most aggressive panhandlers are afraid to come here.
Once inside, gangsta types will follow you and curse you and intimidate you and see if you will pull our cash or credit cards. that they can try to grab and run with... I am too afraid to use the Mall restrooms on the off chance I might get followed in there by a thug.
In case you don't get it, they might flash a .380 semi auto at you that they keep expertly hidden in their palm. That's a 9mm short bullet for those who don't know...Most of the gangstas carry at least a .380 or a 9 mm. And they carry them wherever they like... even to your friendly neighborhood MALL or is that MAUL? It seems like everybody has a concealed pistol EXCEPT the unarmed security and the shoppers. The shoppers that are stupid enough to come back here after one good gang fight or other INCIDENT!
I guess the only people who come here now are the senior citizens (who come before the Mall opens to the general public so they can walk for exercise), the employees,the loiterers, the gangstas and the professional BOOSTERS!
I was so put off by the mark-ups on the cheaply made, shoddy clothing and most everything else that I rarely went in there except to accompany a friend who was too afraid to go alone --except there was a video store named "Sun Coast" that would order animae for you. They moved out because of the SHOPLIFTERS! And did I mention PICKPOCKETS?
Every con artist in town has a sad tale and they check it out on Highland Mall customers! I don't fall prey to them because I stopped coming here to shop several months ago.
Unfortunately, I had to ride the bus and the bus stop is located on the west side of Highland Mall.
At the bus stop, the professional BOOSTERS will regale you with merchandise that is apparently freshly shoplifted from select merchants. Athletic shoes are crowd pleasers as are sunglasses, jewelry, mens colognes and I think they have other stuff but I don't want to get involved. I hear the BOOSTERS talk on the bus to go to certain stores because the merchants to maximize profits have untrained salesclerks there and the BOOSTERS can change price tags and walk right out with deep discounts because the underpaid salesclerks DO NOT GIVE A RAT! And they will gone before the police can get there,if you even consider calling the police...and you never know WHO is hearing you place that call either.
Why take a bullet or a shank when you don't even have hospitalization insurance and probably wouldn't get paid worker's comp?
The merchants just mark the prices up even higher to compensate their inventory for the "shrinkage." Even if they had something in my size, I wouldn't be able to afford it now for sure.
They have great variety on the food court but the gangstas will panhandle and try to eat your food when you aren't looking if they don't just take your order and run with it. I was just getting out my money to pay and my food disappeared! I ordered more and paid for that one. Security couldn't even begin to run fast enough to catch the dude. While you are eating, the gangstas will throw things at you, curse you in bilingual insults.stare rudely at you and threaten to beat you up, etc. NOT the great shopping experience that makes you want to return.
I have lost count of the many times I have seen the police and the security at the bus stop trying to break up confrontations between the crips and the bloods and the Latin Kings and whoever the hell else it is out there that wants to fight.
A local radio station put a poll on their website asking people how safe they felt shopping there and it turned out that NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE DID!
You can also get pushed and shoved in there. The tactic that purse snatchers seem to like to use but those of us with osteoarthritis find painful and intimidating since we have problems getting up and down anyway!
DON'T GO THERE AT NIGHT!
J.C. Penney's one of the original anchor tenants moved out almost a year ago and while I understand that there are many overpriced stores left selling near-useless merchandise left that the ENTIRE MALL IS SUPPOSED TO BE TORN DOWN TO MAKE WAY FOR SOME STUDENT HOUSING! SO THEY SAY!
Here is what the local daily newspaper says:
"Man shot, killed near Highland Mall
Monday, August 28, 2006, 05:45 AM
WEBshootinghighland.jpg
Austin police are investigating an early morning shooting that left one man dead after an apparent argument.
Officers were summoned to a house in the 400 block of Denson Drive, near Highland Mall, after shots were fired around 2:30 a.m. Upon arrival, they learned a resident had called a relative after hearing noises outside the home, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said. When the relative arrived, he apparently got into an altercation with a man on the property and shot him.
The man who was shot was taken to Brackenridge Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have not yet released the deceased man's name."
AND:
"This morning I listened to comments and listener's calls on a morning radio talk show. The subject was the alarming incident at Highland Mall, April 2007,resulting in its early closing. Gangs were prowling the mall and fights broke out. Customers left in terror and were calling to say that they would never go back. Obviously, this violence was bad for business and may portend the demise of this popular mall.
Posted 4.10.2007 9:45:26 PM "
See it ALL at Highland Mall!
INCIDENTALLY, as of August 24,2007, HIGHLAND MALL WAS LOOKING FOR A NEW GENERAL MANAGER. I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD ONE!
Overview: General Growth Properties, Inc. has an immediate opening for a General Manager at Higland Mall, Austin, TX. General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT") and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol GGP. Headquartered in Chicago, GGP and its predecessor companies have been in the shopping center business for over fifty years.
People Creating Special Places and Experiences - This is our vision. This is what drives us. When you join General Growth Properties, you join a team of people who are passionate about creating the most exciting, vibrant and entertaining shopping centers and communities in the world.
At GGP, shopping is serious business. Our talented people create the exciting, enticing shopping experiences that keep our customers coming back and make GGP malls central to their communities. It takes a lot of creativity, energy, insight, and many types of professionals to sustain a thriving, long-standing leadership position in the ever-changing, highly competitive consumer marketplace.
Responsibilities:
The Job Duties include:
* General Manager manages the shopping center facility. Duties include: a.) Administers the leases and reciprocal easement agreements. b.) Maintains the common area. c.) Secures the common area. d.) Collects the rentals and recovery charges. e.) Prepares various reports requested by corporate office.
* General Manager prepares annual center budget. Duties include: a.) Forecasts the annual income and expenses for the center. b.) Expense control. c.) Approves disbursements in accordance with approved annual budget. d.) Maximizes the income generated by the center.
* General Manager participates in the leasing efforts of the center. Duties include: a.) Leases space to specialty/temporary retail merchants. b.) Coordinates the overall leasing effort with the corporate leasing representative to establish quality tenant mix. c.) Negotiates and administers lease amendments.
* General Manager manages the center personnel. Duties include: a.) Supervises and directs the Marketing Manager on issues of advertising and marketing for the center. b.) Supervises and directs the Operating Manager in the operation of maintenance and mechanical systems for the center. c.) Hires and trains support personnel as necessary. d.) Supervises independent contractors when such services have been engaged.
* General Manager maintains continuous dialogue with partners or non-equity owners, if applicable.
* General Manager performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications:
* Bachelor's Degree or related experience in the workforce.
* Real Estate Salesperson's license preferred.
* 2-5 years regional shopping center management experience.
* Ability to successfully canvass, negotiate and close specialty, regional and local leasing deals.
* Ability to lead a specialty leasing program.
* Strong ability to lead and influence a diverse group of people.
* Strategic business orientation.
Technical Skills & Training
* Adept in financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting.
* Excellent communication skills.
* Computer skills that include Excel, Microsoft Word, or other word processing programs.
* Strong merchant and community relations skills.
* The ability to work with and communicate effectively with tenants and contracted services personnel.
ANONYMOUS
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Joe
Austin,Texas,
U.S.A.
THIS PLACE HAS BECOME AN ECONOMIC DISASTER!
#2Consumer Comment
Sat, May 23, 2009
WELL WHEN YOU LET A BUNCH OF GANG BANGERS OF ALL RACES TERRORIZE THE MALL BECAUSE THESE POLITICALLY CORRECT IDIOTS ARE TOO AFRAID THEY WILL HAVE BAD WORDS SAID ABOUT THEM... THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS! BUSINESSES ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY AND THIS MALL SHOULD HAVE BANNED ALL PERSONS UNDER A CERTAIN AGE WITHOUT PARENTS A LONG TIME AGO. ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN SCHOOL AND WERE WEARING GANG COLOR AND CARRYING GUNS INTO THAT MALL. IT IS HEARTBREAKING FOR THOSE OF US WHO REMEMBER IT WHEN IT FIRST OPENED. I WAS ANGRY BECAUSE THEY TORE DOWN A BUNCH OF TREES AND THOUSANDS OF GRACKLES CONSIDERED IT THEIR HOME THEN AND NOW. HIGHLAND MALL IS NOT MAKING MONEY! GENERAL GROWTH PROPERTIES Highland Mall co-owner files for bankruptcy General Growth Properties, No. 2 mall operator in U.S., staggering under debt load; Highland Mall not part of filing THE NEW YORK TIMES Friday, April 17, 2009 NEW YORK General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall operators in the nation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday in one of the biggest commercial real estate collapses in U.S. history. The company is the co-owner of Highland Mall in Austin, as well as malls in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Overall, it owns or co-owns 200 malls in 44 states. Despite bargaining for months with its creditors, General Growth faced dwindling options for handling its more than $25 billion in debt, largely in the form of short-term mortgages that will come due by next year. Trouble in the financial markets has wreaked havoc on the company's ability to refinance that debt. The filing by the Chicago-based company, made in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan, included most of the company's 200 malls, which will continue to operate. A spokeswoman said Highland Mall was not part of the filing. General Growth owns the mall in a joint venture with Simon Property Group. THIS IS SIMON DI BARTODI GROUP WHO WILL PROBABLY END UP OWNING THIS. General Growth acquired its Highland Mall interest when it bought the Rouse Co. for $12.6 billion in 2004. That was part of a string of acquisitions that helped General Growth expand, adding landmark properties such as Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston and South Street Seaport in New York. But the deals also loaded the company with debt. "While the retail environment didn't help them, what did them in is they used way too much debt," said Jim Sullivan, managing director of Green Street Advisors, a real estate investment research company. General Growth's reorganization efforts probably will focus on selling properties. It has already suspended its stock dividend, cut its work force by 20 percent and stopped virtually all new development. "Our operational model is sound," Thomas Nolan Jr., the company's president and chief operating officer, said on a conference call. He cited "the unprecedented disruption in the real estate financing markets and the need to extend maturing debt" as the reason the company filed. What began as a crisis in residential real estate has seeped into the commercial real estate market, as landlords of retail and office space face rising numbers of vacancies. Analysts expect many companies to struggle as the recession forces steep cuts in consumer spending and employment rolls. As the second-biggest operator of malls in the nation, behind Simon Property Group, General Growth's troubles have been closely watched by the real estate industry for months. Founded in 1954 and expanded through a series of acquisitions, the company has a huge retail presence that has served as a barometer for the troubles bedeviling the American retail market. As more stores have closed, mall vacancies are at their highest point in almost a decade, according to Reis, a research company, which said the vacancy rate at the end of 2008 was 7.1 percent, compared with 5.8 percent at the end of 2007. That has left many of the roughly 1,500 malls in the United States groping for a solution. Some have converted retail space into office space. Others have drastically lowered rents for prized tenants, agreeing to cut deals to keep revenue flowing. Some have simply gone dark. General Growth already faced problems with Highland Mall, which has been losing tenants for months. Last month, Dillard's Inc. sued the mall owners, saying they had let the mall go downhill and failed to live up to the standards promised in its lease. Dillard's plans to leave this summer. J.C. Penney left in 2006. Few analysts dispute the quality of General Growth's malls. But its undoing was the mounting pile of short-term mortgages it used to expand. That financing strategy was devised by its longtime chief financial officer, Bernard Freibaum, who was dismissed last October. Since then, the mall owner has pleaded with holders of $2.3 billion in bonds to hold off on demanding payment. But bondholders grew increasingly impatient as bond maturities continued to mount. The company said in its statement that it had secured a commitment for $375 million in bankruptcy financing from Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund that owns more than 25 percent of the company through its holdings of shares and swap contracts. That financing must be approved by a bankruptcy court judge. YOU PEOPLE CANNOT MAKE MONEY WHEN YOU LET THE d**n GANGSTAS, PROSTITUTES, THIEVES AND PANHANDLERS HANG AROUND AND SCARE AND HARASS THE CUSTOMERS AND DO NOTHING ABOUT IT! YOU PEOPLE ARE EITHER THE MOST STUPID IDIOTS I HAVE EVER SEEN -- IN WHICH CASE YOU OUGHT TO GO BANKRUPT -- OR YOU ARE LAUNDERING MONEY AND TRYING TO LET THIS PLACE GO BANKRUPT FOR THE TAX WRITE - OFF. A LOT OF THE GANGSTAS FRIENDS AND RELATIVES WORK INSIDE THE SHOPS THAT ARE LEFT AND ENABLE THEM TO RIP OFF FROM THEM TOO. WHEN YOU ARE BEING SHOPLIFTED OUT OF EXISTENCE, YOU CAN'T PAY THE OVERPRICED MALL RENTS! THINK ABOUT IT! HOME: MARCH 20, 2009: NEWS Ghost Mall? Retail Bagpipes Sound a Dirge for Highland Mall "Highland Mall is the most centrally located shopping center in Austin," declares the current fact sheet from mall manager General Growth Properties. That wasn't always the case. Now surrounded by the city that's grown around it, it was a destination when it opened in 1971 as Austin's first "suburban" retail mall. Since then, while Highland itself has grown, so have the city's competing shopping options. Aside from newer, traditional malls like Barton Creek Square or Lakeline, more urbanist, deluxe destinations like the nascent Mueller redevelopment and the Domain have cropped up, drawing stores and anchor tenants from the aging center. Nowadays, only a fraction of the 5,900 parking spaces at Highland are full, and hundreds of thousands of its million-plus square feet of retail area lie empty. With the recent announcement that Dillard's two men's and women's stores will be closing this year, the future of Highland Mall seems dim. Warnings have sounded about the mall's flagging fortunes for years. A 2008 analysis commissioned by Capital Metro regarding its planned Highland Mall commuter rail station the linchpin to any future redevelopment of the area politely noted the mall "has shown some signs of decline," facing competition from newer retailers. It also acknowledged the 2006 closure of anchor store JCPenney "resulting in higher than normal vacancies" in that end of the mall. (That space now houses FEMA staging operations for Central Texas, firing the antenna of conspiracy theorists locally and across the Web.) The store vacancies plaguing the former Penney portal now sealed up and somewhat sadly rechristened the children's "fun zone," with the addition of an often-still toy train ride have metastasized. All four stores across from the food court prime retail space are shuttered. National retailers such as J.Crew and Banana Republic have fled to the Domain, replaced by interchangeable discount retailers with names like Fame and Flo. There are some survivors: The gothic heart of Hot Topic still thumps with prepackaged teenage rebellion; Anchor Blue continues its brisk business of selling new T-shirts that look like old T-shirts; and the constantly churning Forever 21 moves enough swaths of club-ready pseudo-couture to qualify as a minianchor itself. Still, the signs are unmistakable: On a recent walk-through, I counted more than 30 closed stores. (It's hard to get an exact number, as so many empty storefronts sit next to one another, often covered up together.) The vacancies, coupled with the changing demographics of the surrounding north central neighborhood, have created a self-perpetuating perception of Highland as a "ghetto mall" (as one snarky online analysis called it). Online commenters at Yelp.com usually more discerning than the Internet's anonymous worst say, "If you are Latino or African-American between the ages of 13 to 18, this mall is for you," or, "If I want to be mugged, I'll go to Highland Mall." (The mall has its nostalgic defenders too, naturally, considering Austinites younger than 35 grew up along with it.) Some infamy stems from a YouTube clip of a single confrontation at Highland Mall that, as of last look, has been viewed 155,621 times. Captured on a cell phone, the "fight" consists of about 10 seconds of shadowboxing between two young men, but the large, predominately black crowd out and about during a rainy UT 2007 Texas Relays weekend drew wider media attention. In a 2008 article recounting that the largely black Relays crowd felt unfairly targeted, the Austin American-Statesman reported that the mall closed early on Relays weekend in 2007 and beefed up security for 2008 Relays weekend. While Highland Mall's popularity with minority youth and young adults hasn't fundamentally altered the mall's fabric (aside from the addition of a few retailers offering hip-hop designers), the situation is reminiscent of a Chris Rock joke: "Every town has the same two malls: the one white people go to and the one white people used to go to." "Jointly owned by GGP and Simon [Properties], the mall's future will depend on the ability of these partners to cooperatively develop a redevelopment strategy," continues the Cap Metro study. "Without further investments it is unlikely that the mall will be competitive." But the prospects of this are slim, as GGP is experiencing drastic problems of its own: the looming prospect of bankruptcy. GGP's acquisition of Highland Mall is partially to blame, as the firm became leveraged to the hilt purchasing the Rouse Co. which owned Highland, along with several other malls and planned communities in 2004 for $12 billion. GGP's 2008 third-quarter filing stated "our potential inability to address our ... debt maturities in a satisfactory fashion raises substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern." Currently, GGP is asking its bondholders not to call in their cash just yet, as it struggles to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "A viable redevelopment strategy for the mall will greatly influence future development potential around that station area," the study continues. And with Cap Metro's commuter line expected to launch later this year, the area is already showing signs of redevelopment; the nearby Crestview Station at Airport and North Lamar is being built up into a mixed-use development. In its valuable location, the mall itself is prime for redevelopment, especially as its car-centric, suburban style a retail castle surrounded by an unwalkable moat of parking has fallen out of favor for pedestrian-friendly, New Urbanist-style designs. But whatever your opinion of Highland Mall whether you bid good riddance to another eye-glazing, Gruen Transfer-triggering temple to consumer debt and commercialism or lament the passing of an aging family friend it would appear that without another anchor tenant willing to risk the arena, Highland Mall will be drifting off and away.
