As Nation's Children Return to the Classroom, Study Details More Than $200 Million in Public Giveaways and Tax Savings

Washington, D.C.-The nation's second largest mall owner, General Growth Properties (GGP), has pursued what appears to be a systematic business strategy that has drained hundreds of millions of dollars from local communities and schools across the United States. According to a study released today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit research center that focuses on economic development issues, General Growth Properties has taken at least $200 million from local government and school district coffers over the last ten years, contributing to fiscal problems that in some communities have resulted in teacher layoffs, larger class sizes and cuts in other services.

"A multi-billion-dollar corporation like General Growth Properties doesn't need taxpayer help,"says Philip Mattera, Research Director of Good Jobs First. "These hundreds of millions of dollars could have been used instead to strengthen our communities by increasing the revenues available for education, police and fire protection and other vital public services."   

The release of the report was marked by rallies and events calling attention to GGP's impact on communities in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, and Portland, Oregon, cities where fiscal problems have been exacerbated by GGP's drain on revenues. The report documents how GGP actively seeks taxpayer subsidies for its development and then systematically and often successfully appeals its assessments to reduce the amount it pays in property taxes. The subsidies and tax savings benefit the company but put a strain on local communities, which may then be forced to make cuts in services or shift the tax burden to small businesses and working families.

Even as commercial real estate prices skyrocketed in recent years, GGP managed to save millions by arguing that its properties have lost value. According to the report, "GGP asks for a lot, does not give up, and is never satisfied."

Of the malls sampled by the study, GGP has used assessment appeals to achieve the largest property tax savings in places such as Honolulu, Hawaii (Ala Moana Center, $1,339,102), Omaha, Nebraska (Oak View Mall, $1,025,459 and Westroads Mall, $600,618), Frisco, Texas (Stonebriar Centre, $933,205), Humble, Texas (Deerbrook Mall, $727,424), and Lewisville, Texas (Vista Ridge Mall, $554,160). 

The largest taxpayer subsidies GGP has received are in Frisco, Texas (Stonebriar Centre, $40,000,000 and another unnamed new development, $31,900,000), Portland, Oregon (Clackamas Town Center, $23,900,000), Cincinnati, Ohio (Kenwood Towne Centre, $22,000,000),Virginia Beach, Virginia (Lynnhaven Mall, $15,000,000), and Baltimore, Maryland (Mondawmin Mall, $15,000,000). 

Particularly troubling is GGP's practice of "double-dipping,"a procedure that involves securing public subsidies for the construction of malls or mall-related infrastructure and then later hitting up taxpayers again by claiming that the same property has lost value. This occurred in Honolulu, Hawaii (Ala Moana Center), Coralville, Iowa (Coral Ridge Mall), Riverside, California (Galleria at Tyler), Virginia Beach, Virginia (Lynnhaven Mall), Frisco, Texas (Stonebriar Centre), and Mesquite, Texas (Town East Mall).

The $210 million received by General Growth Properties (GGP) could have been used by local governments to pay for public services.  Spent over one year, $210 million would pay for: 

  6,623 teachers ($31,704 average for a first-year teacher), or
  4,665 police officers ($45,010 median for a patrol officer), or
  7,000 fully equipped 2006 Ford police cars at $29,600 each , or
  5,476 fire fighters ($38,334 median for a firefighter), or
  500 fire engines ($421,000 for a fire engine), or
  12 million immunizations against Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)

Methodology:
Good Jobs First examined a 50-mall sample from among the 220 malls that GGP operates and owns (in whole or in part) throughout the country. Of the 50 malls, 14 were found to have received some form of public subsidy over the past decade, while 27 were involved in property tax appeals. The total of more than $200 million that GGP received in subsidies and tax savings from successful appeals probably represents only a fraction of the public monies GGP has received over this period.

SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, commissioned the study as part of an effort to gauge the overall impact of General Growth Properties' business practices on the lives of working families.

Additional Contact:
Michelle Lee, 202-232-1616 

"

###