CHICAGO-General Growth Properties Inc., the locally-based bankrupt mall REIT, has asked the court for a couple of extensions on its $8.5-billion reorganization plan with Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management. The motions by GGP, which is chaired by John Bucksbaum, were filed last week with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

While the trust said it expects to file its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization and accompanying disclosure statement on July 9, GGP also has filed motions with the court requesting an extension of its exclusive period in which to file the plan through Oct. 18, and its exclusive period to solicit acceptances of such a plan through Dec. 16. The current exclusivity periods are scheduled to expire on July 15 and Sept. 15, respectively.

Though the trust expects to file its plan within the current exclusivity period, the requested extension is integral to GGP’s strategy to maximize value upon emergence, according to a statement by the REIT. “The extension would allow GGP to continue to explore all financing emergence options available to it and to complement or replace existing financing commitments on an exclusive basis,” the trust said in its statement.

A trust official did not respond to questions about the extensions. After Simon Property Group dropped its bid to acquire the company, GGP has been tying up loose ends to emerge from bankruptcy. For example, the trust is disputing an arbitration request and asking the bankruptcy judge to evaluate and rule on claims by former investors in Hughes Corp., which had joined GGP in a venture to develop a 22,500-acre master-planned community near Las Vegas called Summerlin.