How are South Jersey malls doing? Moorestown changes continue as owner deals with losses

Jim Walsh, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·2 min read

PHILADELPHIA - The owner of two South Jersey malls has reported another big loss: a third-quarter deficit of almost $64 million.

The red ink, equal to $12 per share, was an improvement from a year-before net loss attributable to shareholders of $77.2 million, or $31.48 per share, said Philadelphia-based PREIT.

But PREIT, whose holdings include the Cherry Hill Mall and Moorestown Mall, noted declines in its latest quarter for comparable sales at its core malls, as well as for total occupancy and non-anchor occupancy.

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The lowest occupancy rate was 75.6 percent at Fashion District Philadelphia, a Center City mall that ranks last among PREIT's 19 shopping centers.

A man walks by the future home of an out-patient facility for Cooper University Health Care at Moorestown Mall.
A man walks by the future home of an out-patient facility for Cooper University Health Care at Moorestown Mall.

Cherry Hill is the company's top performer with average comparable sales of $898 per square foot. Moorestown ranks 14th with a corresponding figure of $455 per square foot.

PREIT CEO Joseph Coradino did not address the company's finances in a prepared statement.

But he noted PREIT malls have added "new and diverse tenants" in the last quarter "and look forward to additional openings as we head into the holiday season."

The newcomers include Oak + Fort, a Canadian retailer of apparel and goods, at Cherry Hill Mall.

And a PREIT statement noted ongoing changes to diversify Moorestown Mall.

It said Cooper University Health Care is close to opening an extensive out-patient facility in a former Sears store at the Route 38 center.

A gap in a plastic covering shows part of the name at Cooper University Health Care's new facility at Moorestown Mall.
A gap in a plastic covering shows part of the name at Cooper University Health Care's new facility at Moorestown Mall.

Also, construction has begun on a parking structure for a planned 375-unit apartment complex behind Boscov's.

In a separate statement Tuesday, Coradino noted a recent vote by Moorestown residents to allow games of chance at the mall.

The approval will help attract "a family-friendly venue" with amusement games where customers could redeem points and tickets for merchandise prizes, according to PREIT.

The business, which has yet to be publicly identified, would also offer dining and a bar in the space once occupied by Lord + Taylor.

" We look forward to sharing more details about this exciting venue in the coming weeks," Coradino said on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

A crane lifts a concrete slab during construction of a parking garage for a planned apartment complex at Moorestown Mall.
A crane lifts a concrete slab during construction of a parking garage for a planned apartment complex at Moorestown Mall.

Voter approval was needed to overturn results of a 1962 referendum that prohibited games of chance with prizes in Moorestown.

PREIT also is selling off assets, like the former Sears store and part of its parking lot behind Boscov's, to help pay down debts. That process produced a little more than $30 million in gross proceeds in the latest quarter, the company said.

PREIT, which is being squeezed by rising interest costs, also said it has discussed a "potential restructuring transaction" with members of a lender group.

The mall firm has liquidity of $38.5 million in cash balances and available credit. It owes $1.11 billion in debt that matures Dec. 10.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: PREIT notes efforts to diversify tenant mix at Moorestown Mall