My take Exton Square Mall and PREIT's Christiana deal

 Back in 2003, mall giant Rouse made what at the time seemed to be a stunningly expensive deal that gave it a large piece of a "trophy" mall in sales tax-free Delaware in return for shedding six malls in need of upgrades that included Exton Square, Cherry Hill, and  Plymouth meeting malls. The deal was valued at more than half a billion dollars.

 PREIT aimed to spiff up the malls on its home turf and add to its portfolio. One of the acquisitions was Valley View Mall on the fringes of the Mississippi River city of  La Crosse, one of my career stops.

 The mall's opening was a big deal and led to struggles in downtown, but years later, signs pointed to rockier times as chains replaced local and regional merchants. Meanwhile, rapidly growing upper Midwest-based big box chains like Kohl's and Best Buy opened in nearby strip mall spaces.

PREIT continued to work its plan,  but in retrospect, Rouse was the smarter of the two.

Years later,  malls began to face headwinds as department store chains merged and closed stores as sales slid. Mainstays in interior spaces struggled, with the Covid-19 pandemic often striking the fatal blow.

Christiana Mall emerged as a winner when Target and Norstrom's stores replaced Strawbridge and Lord and Taylor locations.

A renovation project and refraining from a major expansion of its interior square footage kept the vacancy rate close to zero.

With the possible exception of Cherry Hill Mall, which PREIT  calls its crown jewel, the other malls struggled with the real estate trust going through a pair of bankruptcies.

Returning to La Crosse for a moment, all original anchors at  Valley View have departed except for a JC Penney store.

Valley View, which PREIT recently sold,  might be considered a "ghost mall" if it weren't for a Veterans Administration clinic and a supermarket taking space. Meanwhile, downtown La Crosse clawed back with work gear-outdoor retailer Duluth Trading opening a branch at a former department store. Filling some downtown spaces remains a challenge.

Abrams has a good shot at making Exton Square work as a town center. The mall is in an affluent area and, with a makeover, should be able to attract tenants.

Meanwhile, Christiana Mall, now a part of real estate giant Brookfield, perks along, regularly replacing a revolving door of inside  tenants and recently filling up outside space with a new P.F Chang outpost.

 In 2018, the mall had an estimated value of $1 billion thanks in part to having one of the busiest Apple stores in the nation.

 That billion dollar figure may have declined,  but Christiana remains a destination mall with full parking lots during the holiday shopping surge.  - Doug Rainey, chief content officer.