Malls’ owner signals upcoming hardship

General Growth Properties Inc., owner of three of the area’s largest retail malls, says it may file for bankruptcy if efforts to refinance debt or attract more capital fail.

General Growth has owned the NorthTown mall in Spokane, Spokane Valley Mall and Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene since 2004, when it acquired Rouse Co. The company also owns Spokane Valley Plaza, as well as three other Idaho malls and five in Washington.

In a regulatory filing Monday, the Chicago-based company said $958 million in debt matures Dec. 1 and an additional $3 billion matures in 2009.

“Our potential inability to address our 2008 and 2009 debt maturities in a satisfactory fashion raises substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern,” the filing says, with one possible resolution being legal protection from creditors through bankruptcy.

The disclosure triggered a sell-off of General Growth stock, which closed Tuesday at 49 cents per share but surrendered an addtional 9 cents in after-hours trading. The 52-week high for the shares was $51.24.

The company says the weak economy and retail environment have impaired results, and conditions are expected to worsen next year.

In a grim forecast, the filing says, “We believe there is a significantly increased risk that the sales of stores operating in our centers will decrease, negatively affecting their ability to make minimum rent payments and increasing the risk of tenant bankruptcies.”

As rents deteriorate, the malls will become less attractive to buyers, the company says. Its Westlake Center in Seattle is reportedly for sale.