Owner Of Local Malls Files For Bankruptcy

The owner of several local malls has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the biggest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history.

General Growth Properties of Chicago said the restructuring "will be invisible" to shoppers.

Locally, the company owns Westlake Mall in Seattle, Alderwood Mall at Lynnwood, Bellis Fair Mall at Bellingham and SouthShore Mall in Aberdeen. It also owns Spokane Valley Mall and NorthTown Mall in Spokane, and Three Rivers Mall in Kelso.

After amassing $27 billion in debt, the country's second largest shopping mall owner said it is hoping to re-organize and emerge from Chapter 11 quickly.

For months, the company tried to refinance maturing debts, but the collapse of the credit markets made that impossible, according to the company's CEO.

The Chicago-based company lost 81 percent of its stock value in six months.