If you think the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on shopping habits across the country, you are obviously correct.

And that impact is on display front-and-center at shopping malls, which were already seeing a decrease in foot traffic before the virus swept across the country.

Locally, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, known commonly as PREIT, is in the process of borrowing $150 million to stay afloat, but they also said on Wednesday they may be headed to bankruptcy court.

That news is via NJ.com, which says,

Under the terms of the deal, PREIT would put up its assets as collateral toward its existing $919 million in debt and another $150 million in new borrowing, the company said in a statement.

So far, 80 percent of PREIT's lenders are on-board with the plan, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, but if not everyone agrees, they could seek bankruptcy protection. Beyond that, PREIT’s lenders could foreclose on some properties if it defaulted.

PREIT is the largest mall owner in the greater Philadelphia region. They own and operate the Moorestown, Cherry Hill, and Cumberland Malls; they're in a partnership with another company which runs the Deptford Mall, they partially own Gloucester Premium Outlets off of the 42 Freeway, and they own the Fashion District (formerly The Gallery) along Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. Other regional properties include the Plymouth Meeting Mall, Exton Square Mall, and Willow Grove Park, all in Pennsylvania, along with additional malls across the country.

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A trip down retail memory lane in the Cardiff section of Egg Harbor Township

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