More bad news for New Jersey mall owner

The red ink keeps flowing for the owner of three South Jersey malls; PREIT (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust), which owns malls in Vineland, Moorestown, and Cherry Hill, posted a loss for the most recent quarter of $35.7 million.

According to the Cherry Hill Courier Post, the company has a year to date loss of $84 million. The bad news comes on the heels of the company’s bankruptcy announcement, which they made on Nov. 1, saying at the time that they had no plans on closing any of their properites:

"Today's announcement has no impact on our operations – our employees, tenants, vendors and the communities we serve –and we remain committed to continuing to deliver top-tier experiences and improving our portfolio," Preit CEO Joseph Coradino said in a statement.”

The malls were already facing declining revenues due to changing consumer habits and then the pandemic hit; the company said that the losses were partly because of tenant bankruptcies, store closings, and credit losses. For the first three quarters of 2020, PREIT reported a net loss of $84.8 million, or $1.10 per share. That compared to a net loss of $16.5 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same period of its previous fiscal year.

This has a ripple effect on the communities where the malls are located; as noted on NJ.com, PREIT is the largest single taxpayer in all three towns: $19.5 million annually in Cherry Hill, $3.5 million in Moorestown Township and about $2 million in the City of Vineland. Reassessments are likely which would raise the burden on residents.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.