Mills Corporation

Last updated
Mills Corporation
Industry Real estate
Founded1967;57 years ago (1967) (as Western Development Corporation)
1985 (1985) (as Mills Corporation)
DefunctApril 6, 2007 (2007-04-06)
Fate Bankruptcy
Successor Simon Property Group
Headquarters Chevy Chase, Maryland
Products Shopping malls
Website www.themills.com (2003 archive)

The Mills Corporation was a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States, acquired on April 3, 2007, by an investment group composed of Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management. The company developed, owned, and operated major super-regional shopping malls. The company built 18 "Landmark" centers in which the malls were named after "Mills", like "Vaughan Mills", or "St. Louis Mills"; and also over 20 "21st Century Retail" regional malls that they started operating in 2002, like Del Amo Fashion Center and Southdale Center. Most former Mills facilities have a large movie theater from 10 to 30 screens, and a large food court (sometimes two). Their facilities were normally built in colorful modern/abstract architectural designs, but in recent years have been renovated to more conventional designs with mainly neutral colors. Simon Property Group assumed management of the former Mills properties after the acquisition, and is operating the former "Landmark Mills" group as a separate operating segment within its organization.

Contents

Company history

The company started in 1967 as the Western Development Corporation, and its first mall was Potomac Mills in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in 1985. Then from 1989 to 1991, Franklin, Sawgrass, & Gurnee Mills opened each of those years, respectively. In 1994 the company converted to Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) status and changed its name to "The Mills Corporation". [1] [2]

In 1996, with new CEO Lawrence Siegel, The Mills built Ontario Mills near Los Angeles, which was the company's first mall built abstractly and with a full oval racetrack design which followed into the rest of the company's built malls. Since opening Ontario Mills until 2005 with Pittsburgh Mills, The Mills built and opened at least one or two landmark malls each year.

In 2002, The Mills acquired six regular retail malls including the ailing Forest Fair Mall (became Cincinnati Mills from 2004 to 2009) and a nine mall portfolio in 2004, including former Taubman Centers, like Columbus City Center in order to redevelop and expanded to be more affordable centers. Also, the company also expanded to Europe with the opening of Madrid Xanadú in Spain.

The success of Madrid Xanadú prompted The Mills to embark on the $1 billion+ Meadowlands Xanadu complex in 2004, which was first planned as "Meadowlands Mills", but the project has caused numerous delays and cost the company financially. It was eventually sold to another developer, who planned it as American Dream Meadowlands.

In November 2004, Vaughan Mills was the first Mills Landmark built in Canada, and continued its international success with the acquisition of the St. Enoch Centre in Scotland and was offered to build a center in Rome, Italy.

After their last built mall was opened, Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills in July 2005, the company was investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission for its financial problems.

Acquisition by Simon Property Group

On January 17, 2007, the Mills Corporation agreed to a buyout from Brookfield Asset Management, based out of Toronto. The deal was valued at US$1.35 billion. The company was forced to seek help after a possible management misconduct resulted in a $350 million accounting error. Brookfield would have paid $21 for each share of Mills Corporation. [3] However, on February 13, 2007, Mills announced that their board had determined that a competing offer from Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, Indiana was superior to the Brookfield offer. Brookfield had the option to submit a counter offer, but on February 16, 2007, Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital agreed to acquire Mills for $25.25 per common share.

On April 6, 2007, Farallon and Simon completed the acquisition of Mills. All former Mills malls became Simon properties at the acquisition date and are now shown on Simon's website. The Mills became Simon's fifth retail platform, along with Regional Malls (the 21st Century malls included) and Chelsea Premium Outlets. The new platform (for Landmark Mills only) is known as The Mills: A Simon Company.

Former Mills properties

Properties sold by Mills prior to Simon acquisition

Under development

These properties were in development by Mills Corporation before the Simon acquisition:

Canada

Italy

United States

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Mills</span> Shopping mall in San Bernardino County, California

Ontario Mills is a shopping and outlet mall located in Ontario, California, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. With 28 million annual visitors, it is one of the top shopping and tourist destinations in California. It is one of three Mills landmarks in California that are now managed by Simon Property Group since April 2007. Simon owns 50% of it. The Outlets at Orange and The Great Mall are the others. Ontario Mills was designed by the architectural firm, F+A Architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookfield Properties</span> Commercial real estate company in North America

Brookfield Properties is a North American subsidiary of commercial real estate company Brookfield Property Partners, which itself is a subsidiary of alternative asset management company Brookfield Asset Management. It is responsible for the property management of the company's real estate portfolio. Brookfield Properties acquired General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall operators in the U.S., and merged it into Brookfield Properties in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GGP Inc.</span> U.S. real estate company

GGP Inc. was an American commercial real estate company and the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. It was founded by brothers Martin, Matthew and Maurice Bucksbaum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1954, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois from 2000. It was subject to the largest real estate bankruptcy in American history at the time of its filing in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaughan Mills</span> Outlet shopping mall in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Vaughan Mills is a regional outlet mall located at the southeast quadrant of the Highway 400 and Rutherford Road interchange in Vaughan, Ontario, just south of Canada's Wonderland. It is one of the largest enclosed shopping centres in Canada, and the largest shopping mall in York Region with almost 1.3 million square feet (120,000 m2) of retail space. The complex has over 200 retail stores, restaurants, and entertainment outlets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Amo Fashion Center</span> Shopping mall in Southern California

Del Amo Fashion Center is a three-level regional shopping mall in Torrance, California, United States. It is currently managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potomac Mills</span> Shopping mall in Virginia, United States

Potomac Mills is a shopping mall located in Dale City, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The first mall developed by the Mills Corporation, it was acquired in 2007 by Simon Property Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southdale Center</span> Regional mall in Edina, Minnesota, U.S.

Southdale Center is a shopping mall located in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities. It opened in 1956 and is both the first and the oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States. Southdale Center has 1,297,608 square feet of leasable retail space, and contains 106 retail tenants. The mall is owned by Simon Property Group and the anchor stores are Macy's, Dave & Buster's, AMC Theatres, Hennepin Service Center, and Life Time Athletic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Property Group</span> International real estate investment trust founded in the United States

Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Worldwide, it owns interests in 232 properties as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead mall</span> Shopping center with low occupancy

A dead mall is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is deteriorating in some manner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus City Center</span> Former mall in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus City Center was a 1,250,000 sq ft (116,000 m2), three-level shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. It was located in the city's downtown, near the Ohio Statehouse, next to the Ohio Theatre, and connected to the Hyatt on Capitol Square hotel. The mall's closed and was demolished in 2009. The mall had a large adjacent parking structure attached that remains in use. The parking structure has been joined, directly or via bridge respectively, to two 12 story structures, 250 S. High Street and 80 on the Commons, both of which feature lower level office spaces with residential spaces on the upper floors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest City Realty Trust</span> Real estate management and development company

Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., formerly Forest City Enterprises, was a real estate investment trust that invested in office buildings, shopping centers and apartments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and the greater metropolitan areas of New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The company was organized in Maryland with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. As of December 31, 2017, the company owned 29 office buildings, 29 shopping centers, and 78 apartment complexes. On December 7, 2018, the company was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Dream Meadowlands</span> Retail and entertainment complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States

American Dream Meadowlands is a large retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As of 2024, it is the second-largest shopping mall in the United States with more than 450 stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grapevine Mills</span> Shopping mall in Texas, United States

Grapevine Mills is a shopping mall in Grapevine, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Grapevine Mills currently totals over 1,781,628 square feet in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CrossIron Mills</span> Shopping mall in Alberta, Canada

CrossIron Mills is a fully enclosed shopping centre development just outside the northern city limits of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and immediately east of the hamlet of Balzac in Rocky View County. It was developed by Ivanhoé Cambridge, a major Canadian real estate company. Completed in August 2009, the mall is the largest single-level shopping centre in Alberta, containing approximately 109,440 m2 (1,178,000 sq ft) of retail and entertainment space. Century Downs Racetrack and Casino is close by to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurnee Mills</span> Shopping mall in Illinois, United States

Gurnee Mills is a shopping mall and outlet mall in Gurnee, Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. Like the nearby Six Flags Great America and Great Wolf Lodge, the mall's placement in Gurnee is intended to bring customers from both Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With 1,936,699 square feet (179,925 m2) of gross leasable area and ten major anchor stores in its Z-shaped single-story building, it is the third largest mall in Illinois, and the largest of the four enclosed shopping centers in Lake County. Owned and operated by the Simon Property Group, it was an early part of the "Landmark Mills" chain of shopping malls built by the Mills Corporation. The mall features Hobby Lobby, Macy's, Kohl's, Marshalls/HomeGoods, Value City Furniture, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse, Forever 21, H&M, Dick's Sporting Goods, Marcus Theatres, Rainforest Cafe, Top Shelf Ice Arena, The RoomPlace, Lee Wrangler Clearance Center, Burlington Coat Factory, and Floor & Decor as its anchor tenants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridgedale Center</span> Shopping mall in Minnesota, United States

Ridgedale Center, colloquially known as Ridgedale, is an enclosed shopping mall in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a western suburb of the Twin Cities. It is directly located off I-394/US 12 between Ridgedale Drive and Plymouth Road. Ridgedale Center comprises 1,105,337 square feet (100,000 m2) of leaseable retail space, and contains approximately 140 retail tenants. It is currently jointly owned by Brookfield Properties and CBRE Group, and managed by Brookfield. The anchor stores are JCPenney, Nordstrom, Macy's, and Dick's House of Sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivanhoé Cambridge</span> Canadian real estate company

Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc. is a Canadian real estate company based in Montreal, Quebec. With assets around the globe, its areas of activity are investment, development, asset management, operations and leasing. The company's real estate portfolio consists primarily of multi-residential properties, industrial/logistics real estate, shopping centres and office properties. It also has ownership interests in real estate investment funds and hotels. Ivanhoé Cambridge is a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madrid Xanadú</span> Shopping mall in Madrid, Spain

Madrid Xanadú is a large shopping mall and entertainment center in Arroyomolinos, Madrid, Spain. Constructed next to the Autovía de Extremadura highway, the mall is one of Europe's largest, with over 222 shops, eateries, and a 15-screen Cinesa Movie Theater. The most distinctive attraction is Madrid SnowZone, an indoor ski slope. The slope is from a Canadian company, Intrawest. The mall was named after the 1981 film Xanadu, starring Oliva Newton-John.

References

  1. "Company History". The Mills Corporation. Archived from the original on 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  2. "Mills Shifts Focus to Traditional Malls". International Council of Shopping Centers. Archived from the original on February 20, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  3. Hedgpeth, Dana (2007-01-17). "Mills Agrees to Sell for $1.35 Billion". Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  4. "Off-price centers: Chicago's sold on new retail trend". Chicago Tribune. November 3, 1985. p. 16. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  5. Spires, Sheila W. (2001-10-01). "Mills Corp. set to open Discover Mills, introduce new skatepark". (Short article within sequence). National Real Estate Investor (magazine). Retail Beat (Sequence of short articles). Informa Connect. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22. ... the first-ever naming rights deal in the shopping center industry
  6. "The Mills Corporation Announces the Grand Opening of Discover Mills (Press release)". PRNewswire. November 2, 2001. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2021-02-21.