Those long-lingering plans by the Simon Property Group to build a mall called “The Grand” on 134 acres wedged between I-10 and the threatened Grand Parkway — catty-corner to the Katy Mills Mall — appear to be uh . . . “in question.” The Houston Business Journal‘s Jennifer Dawson reports:
The circular acreage surrounded by a mall ring road has at various times been earmarked for an outlet mall, regional mall, lifestyle center and mixed-use center.
Simon recently began marketing the vacant land for sale through local retail brokerage firm Page Partners.
Hmmm . . . how best to spin this?
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Dawson continues:
Les Morris, a spokesman at Simon’s Indianapolis headquarters, denies that a future project on the site is dead.
Morris summed up the company’s position in a written statement: “Simon Property Group is still working on development plans for that land, although we can’t at this time say when we’ll start that development. A sale of some land has always been contemplated on this site, which we envision as a mixed-use project. Page Partners represents our interests at a number of properties, so this really isn’t anything out of the ordinary.â€
- Simon says: Time to market mall site [Houston Business Journal]
- The Grand (PDF) [Simon Properties]
Site Plan for The Grand for 2006: Simon Properties
I am not surprised. I just listened to their depressing quarterly call this morning. and Simon is in trouble (less trouble than their peers). they have stopped paying their dividend in cash. they had to sell some some equity, and i read a credit suisse report that says no cash dividends for 4 years. selling land and quitting? i am not surprised.