Simon ordered to make mall repairs

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Simon ordered to make mall repairs

The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN*

By Jeff Swiatek

jeff.swiatek@...

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20070703/BUSINESS/707030353

Citing testimony about dead pigeons, mold and roof leaks at

University Mall in Little Rock, a federal judge has ordered Simon

Property Group to make $7.3 million in repairs to the largely vacant

Arkansas mall.

" The possibility of people being harmed cannot be ignored, " wrote

Judge R. Jr. in his 50-page order last week.

The ruling is a victory for the landowners, two limited partnerships

from Arkansas and Missouri that sued Indianapolis-based Simon in

2004, charging Simon with breaching the lease agreement by not

properly maintaining the 1960s-era mall.

The order amounts to a chiding of Simon for the way it has

maintained the enclosed 565,000-square-foot University Mall. Simon

has said it prefers to redevelop the Little Rock property as an open-

air lifestyle center, instead of retaining the old mall format. The

company said it has been trying to sell the mall since 1998.

Simon spokeswoman Billie did not return a call for comment.

Testimony in the case, which went to trial in 2005, included reports

of dead pigeons in the mall, mold infestation, unprotected

electrical outlets, falling ceiling tiles and standing water from

roof leaks in the food court and other public areas.

The judge appointed a monitor to observe the repairs, which were

outlined by a construction consultant appointed by the court.

Simon is locked into a land lease with the plaintiffs that runs

until 2026.

Simon, the nation's largest mall developer and owner, runs six

enclosed malls in Indianapolis.