Mall of America misses 2 months of payments on loan

Mall of America missed payments on a $1.4 billion loan the last two months amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A spokesperson for Wells Fargo confirmed to KSTP that MOA missed its April and May payments. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.com.

Mall of America announces reopening of retail stores on June 1

The country's largest shopping center closed on March 17 due to the pandemic and Minnesota's 'stay at home' order. Last week, it announced it would reopen to the public on June 1. However, some of the stores at MOA have already been offering curbside service for a few weeks.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mall of America said: 

"Like many other companies, our business has been critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our revenues have dropped significantly, while many of our larger expenses have remained fixed. Facing significantly reduced revenues we have not met our full mortgage payment obligations. This is not unique to Mall of America and is a struggle facing countless businesses nation-wide.

We have made partial mortgage payments as well as meeting other operating expenses to keep our building functioning. Throughout this process we have remained in communication with our lenders, so they fully understood our situation. 

Currently our mortgage has been submitted to a special servicer. This is a normal step in order to reach an agreement on modifications to the loan terms that works for all parties. This process is being used by companies throughout the country which have been devastated by this crisis. Our goal is to work with the special servicer – and our primary lenders – in order to resolve this difficult situation.

For nearly three decades, Mall of America has been an international retail and entertainment destination, and a Minnesota landmark. Although the process of modifying our loan will not be simple, it will allow Mall of America to remain the front door to Minnesota."