General Growth Properties (GGP), the second largest mall owner in the United States, has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking protection from creditors.
 

Ending months of speculation, the Chicago-based mall owner, which listed total assets of $29.56 billion and total debts of $27.29 billion, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors along with 158 of its more than 200 U.S. malls, while it seeks to restructure some of its debt.

Since November, General Growth has warned that it may have to seek protection from its creditors when it was unable to refinance maturing mortgages.

GGP owns several major malls in Michigan, including: Rivertown Crossings in Grandville; Crossroads Mall in Portage; Westwood Mall in Jackson; Lakeview Square Mall in Battle Creek; Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights; Grand Traverse Mall in Traverse City; and the Novi Town Center in Novi.

It remains to be seen what happens to any or all of those properties. There is speculation that another company might buy some of GGP’s properties.