Legal covenants often cause excessive property taxation for mall owners that are looking to redevelop. By Morris Ellison The repurposing of malls and anchor stores is a popular topic in community development circles, but legal restrictions make redevelopment extremely difficult. Often locked into their original use by covenants, malls and anchor stores are often grossly overvalued for property tax purposes. In pursuing a redevelopment, taxpayers should ensure the properties are fairly assessed and taxed. Debilitating obsolescence It is difficult to overstate the plight of malls and department store anchors. Gone are the halcyon days when the mall was everyone’s shopping destination. There is even a website, www.deadmalls.com, devoted to failed malls. Credit ratings of most anchor store operators have fallen below investment grade. Commentators usually blame the retail apocalypse on e-commerce and shifting consumer spending habits. COVID-19 exacerbated these trends and mall foot traffic has been slow to recover. Some chains, including Neiman Marcus and JCPenney, have filed bankruptcy. E-commerce volume surged in 2020 and 2021 before tapering in 2022. To date, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar sales have not yet reached an equilibrium. One in five American malls have fully closed and remain “zombies” without a redevelopment plan, estimates Green Street …
