Arthur Coppola, president and chief executive officer ofMacerich, cited the stronger balance sheet that the REIT hasachieved through its refinancing of some properties during thequarter. He also said the company is "well positioned to takeadvantage of the pipeline of development and redevelopmentopportunities in our existing portfolio," such as the new regionalmall under construction at SanTan Village in Arizona. The San Tanproject is scheduled to open the first phase of its 120-acre,open-air regional shopping venue in October in Gilbert, AZ, withapproximately 130 retailers occupying more than 1.2 million sf.

Other projects under way include the Promenade at Casa Grande, aone-million-sf regional shopping center under development inArizona's Pinal County on the I-10 corridor between Phoenix andTucson. Phase one is scheduled to open in the fall, with theproject 90% committed.

Also expected to open later this year is an expansion atFreehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey, where construction is underway on a 100,000-sf, $40 million lifestyle component that is 90%committed. In addition, Macerich began an interior renovation ofthe existing 1.4-million-sf center in the first quarter that isalso expected to be substantially complete in the fourth quarter ofthis year.