An announcement this week from Chicago-based developer General Growth Properties Inc. that it might sell some of its assets should not have a negative impact on the company's plans for downtown Columbia, a company official said Sept. 23.

General Growth released a statement Sept. 22 saying it was evaluating "financial and strategic" alternatives in order to raise capital and improve its stock price. Those alternatives could include selling assets or stakes in joint ventures, among other options.

General Growth, the second-largest owner of U.S. shopping malls, owns the Columbia mall and six other shopping centers in Maryland. The company also owns and develops planned communities and is the majority landowner in downtown Columbia.

Greg Hamm, regional vice president and general manager of Columbia for General Growth, said he could not definitively rule out the company selling its property in downtown Columbia in the future, but said there are no immediate plans to do so.

"I think it doesn't change any of our plans or what we intend to submit to the county," he said.

For several years, the company has been drafting a 30-year master plan to guide the redevelopment of downtown Columbia, including the addition of 5,500 new residences, commercial and retail space.

Details of the plan are expected to be submitted to Howard County officials in coming weeks.

Columbia is unique among General Growth's properties in that it has a main retail space, the Columbia mall, surrounded by other property owned by the company that can be developed. Those factors make it less likely it would be sold, Hamm said.

"Columbia is not only a great existing retail property for us, but it's a unique and significant future development opportunity because of the land we own around it," he said.

General Growth, a real estate investment trust that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, did not disclose specifics or elaborate on any of the changes it is considering.

General Growth's Sept. 22 statement came after its stock price fell to its lowest point in a year Sept. 18, trading at $13.37 a share. The stock rebounded the next day, only to plummet by 25 percent Sept. 22. By Sept. 23, it gained about $1 to close at $17, still far from its high of $57.84 in October 2007.

Shareholder worries over the company's ability to refinance its outstanding debt because of the current credit crunch are behind the announcement, according to a Chicago Tribune article published Sept. 23. The company has more than $1 billion in debt due by the end of the year and additional debt coming due in 2009.

In its statement, the company said it expected to be able to refinance its long-term, fixed-rate portfolio of mortgages on its properties by late November.

The company will find other ways to finance the debt that is due before then, according to the statement.

On Sept. 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission added General Growth to its list of companies protected against short sales, a type of stock purchase in which the buyer profits from a drop in stock price. The order lasts for 10 business days, but can be extended up to a month, according to the SEC.

County Executive Kenneth Ulman said he spoke with Hamm briefly Tuesday and was reassured about General Growth's plans. Nothing in their conversation left him concerned about downtown Columbia's future, he said.

"They are 100 percent moving forward with the planning for downtown Columbia. They continue to see it as a tremendous opportunity," Ulman said. "He assured me they continue to be really excited about opportunities in Howard County and downtown Columbia."

County Council member Mary Kay Sigaty, whose district includes downtown Columbia, said she had a "wait-and-see" attitude regarding the news about General Growth.

Sigaty said she had expected to see General Growth's formal presentation of plans for downtown Columbia last week, but had yet to see them as of Sept. 23. She has requested the plans electronically so they can be easily shared with the public, she said.

Hamm said the company expects to have the plans ready to submit in the near future.

In order to proceed with the master plan, the company will need to submit a request to change the county's general plan and to change certain zoning laws, Sigaty said. Officials also would need to evaluate how General Growth's plan would impact roads, schools and other infrastructure, she said.

General Growth owns or manages more than 200 regional shopping malls in 44 states, as well as planned community developments and commercial office buildings. The company's seven shopping centers in Maryland include the Mall in Columbia and Harborplace and The Gallery in Baltimore.

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