JLL Acquires GGP’s Management Portfolio

CHICAGO-General Growth Properties, emerging from bankruptcy, is selling its third-party management subsidiary to Jones Lang LaSalle. Terms of the deal were not released, but JLL’s management division will take over 18 properties with 11.2 million square feet.

About 230 of GGP’s employees will move over to JLL in the deal, including about 20 here in Chicago and the rest at the 18 various malls throughout the country. Mark Hunter, former SVP of third-party management at GGP, Donn Fuller, who held the position of VP of asset management and development at GGP, and John Taylor, who was VP of accounting and finance at GGP, will become SVPs at JLL.

Greg Maloney, head of the JLL retail division, says it’s a great deal, as his firm has been competing against GGP for years. “This continues our strategy to be the firm of choice on third party retail management,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “Another exciting thing is we’ll be working with General Growth to help them with additional needs in real estate. They are financially incentivized to help us grow.” 

Tom Nolan, president and COO for GGP, said in a statement that his firm’s relationships with top institutional and private owners of retail properties will bring value to the alliance. A GGP spokesman did not return calls for comment.

With the deal, JLL will now have 190 properties under management, with 276 million square feet worldwide. The 18 GGP properties are separate from the REIT's retail holdings. The managed properties include: Alexandria Mall (Alexandria, LA); Branson Landing (Branson, MO); Burbank Town Center (Burbank, CA); Cherokee Square Shopping Center (Tullahoma, TN); Festival Bay Mall (Orlando); Kings' Shops (Waikoloa, HI); Laurel Commons (Laurel, MD); Northgate Mall (Tullahoma, TN); Palladio at Broadstone (Folsom, CA); Queen Ka'ahumanu Center (Kahului, HI); the Shops at Georgetown Park (Washington, DC); The Shops at Tanforan (San Bruno, CA); St. Lawrence Centre (Massena, NY); Swansea Mall (Swansea, MA); Towson Commons (Towson, MD); University Mall (Tampa); Westdale Mall (Cedar Rapids, IA); and Windward Mall (Kaneohe, HI).

Maloney says that malls are starting to come back across the country, with retailers looking to open more stores now that consumer confidence is somewhat restored. “The higher-end sector is starting to rebound a lot quicker, and centers are a lot busier than we thought they would be,” he says. “We’re looking forward to back-to-school and Christmas shopping to jumpstart the second half of the year.”