Retail landlord WPG, the owner of malls and shopping centers around the country, said it’s selling its remaining properties and laying off 139 employees at its headquarters, winding down its business nearly four years after filing for bankruptcy protection.
The Columbus, Ohio-based real estate firm has divested about half of its malls and shopping centers in the past year “while the remainder of the portfolio is or will soon be on the market,” a company spokesperson told CoStar News in an email on Tuesday. It has sold roughly $1 billion in properties in the past several years, according to CoStar data. WPG, formerly Washington Prime Group, wouldn’t say how many properties it has, but its website lists 50.
The malls are coming on the market at a critical loan repayment time, with WPG having nearly $1.1 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt coming due between May and November. Final notifications have been sent to WPG on the nearest maturities, according to CMBS loan commentary.
WPG notified Ohio labor relations officials that it’s cutting its workforce at its headquarters at 4900 E. Dublin Granville Road in two waves, with the first layoffs taking effect on June 2. The job cuts will be completed by March 31, 2026, WPG said in a letter to the Ohio Office of Workforce Development. The company’s chief financial officer, its chief legal officer and its head of leasing are among those slated to get pink slips.