"The goal has been to pull in the reins a little bit and focus on the Midwest," Glimcher says of the REIT's community center strategy. However, the REIT's outlook is more national when it comes to malls. "We anticipate the mall portfolio increasing," Glimcher adds.

About 60% of the REIT's 30.4-million-sf portfolio is invested in malls now, Glimcher says, which the REIT would like to increase to 70%. That includes the one-year-old "value megamall" Jersey Gardens, which has been successful for retailer Sak's to open stores in Glimcher properties in Kansas City and Columbus after first-year sales in Elizabeth, NJ.

The REIT in November also opened 411,935-sf Polaris Towne Center here, which is 100% leased. It also is developing Polaris Fashion Place, which will be anchored by seven department stores when it opens in October.

Meanwhile, the REIT hopes to sell properties for $50 million to $100 million this year, after disposing of $67 million worth of properties in the previous two years. "It's gone a little bit slower than anticipated," Glimcher says. "However, the prices have come in strong."

Only 14 retailers have leases on more than 1% of Glimcher's leasable space, led by discount giant Wal-Mart at 5.4% of the strip centers space and The Limited at 4.2% of the REIT's mall space.

Glimcher does not expect the REIT to suffer much from the economic slowdown, which has included bankruptcies of movie theatre companies. "We have such a diverse base," Glimcher says. "We are geographically diverse and we have a number of different properties. A slowdown in the economy can hurt, but most of our income is fixed." Lease terms range from five to 10 years, Glimcher says, and most are fixed-rate rather than based on a percentage of store sales.

The REIT also plans on refinancing $175 million on Lloyd Center in Portland and Northtown Mall in Blaine, MN, Glimcher says.

Instant Insights /

Glimcher Realty Trust Focuses on Malls, Property Sales

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