General Growth Properties is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust in the United States. They are based in Chicago, Illinois.
The company was founded by two brothers, Martin and Matthew Bucksbaum, in 1954. That year they opened their first shopping mall, Town & Country Shopping Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1960 General Management opened its second mall, Duck Creek Plaza in Bettendorf, Iowa; this was their first mall to have a department store (Younkers) as an anchor.
In 1970 General Management became General Growth Properties; two years later they became a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. However, their stock did not perform as well as expected, and in 1984 General Growth became a privately-held company. That year they sold 19 malls to Equitable Real Estate in an $800 million deal -- considered the largest single real estate transaction in the United States at that time -- but continued to manage the malls as part of the deal. Another initial public offering was held in 1993 to raise money for future expansion plans. In 1995 General Growth moved its headquarters from Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago.
Since 1993, General Growth has expanded its portfolio by acquiring existing properties and constructing new malls. On November 12, 2004, General Growth acquired The Rouse Company in the largest retail real estate merger in American history.
As of March 2005, General Growth manages 209 malls in 44 states. Only the Simon Property Group manages more malls than General Growth.
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Last updated: 10-08-2005 15:44:00
