Washington Prime Group Inc., owner of the Orange Park Mall and 100 other retail properties, filed a “prearranged” Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition June 13.
The Columbus, Ohio-based mall operator said it expects to continue operating the properties as usual after entering Chapter 11 with a support agreement from a majority of its creditors.
Washington Prime was spun off from Simon Property Group in 2014, with the company consisting of smaller malls that were operated by Simon.
The Orange Park Mall has 952,725 square feet of space and was 97.2% occupied at the end of 2020, according to Washington Prime’s annual report.
The company also owns the 163,259-square-foot Westland Park Plaza in Orange Park, which is anchored by Beall’s and Burlington Coat Factory stores.
Westland Park was 87.6% occupied at year’s end.
Washington Prime filed its Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after reporting a first-quarter net loss of $55.4 million.
The company said it will use the Chapter 11 process to implement a consensual financial restructuring of debt. It has support agreements with holders of 73% of its secured corporate debt and 67% of unsecured notes, it said in a news release.
“The Company’s financial restructuring will enable WPG to right size its balance sheet and position the Company for success going forward,” CEO Lou Conforti said in a news release.
“The Company expects operations to continue in the ordinary course for the benefit of our guests, tenants, vendors, stakeholders and colleagues,” he said.