Rouse Company Acquired

The Rouse Company, the mall developer and manager that has helped reshape the nation's landscape, agreed yesterday to be acquired by General Growth Properties, the big owner of shopping centers, for $7.2 billion in cash.

Rouse turned historic buildings like Faneuil Hall in Boston into so-called festival marketplaces and created pioneering planned communities like Columbia, Md. General Growth, which is based in Chicago, owns 178 regional shopping malls in 41 states and is second to the Simon Property Group in number of malls.

The merger, the latest in a series of consolidations in the retail real estate industry, will strengthen General Growth's position in markets like Las Vegas, Denver and Salt Lake City while giving it a foothold in states like New York and New Jersey.

Question: Will a selling off of properties occur as a result of this deal, and could your community be impacted?

More here.