Baltimore/D.C. Area High On Troubled Commercial Property Hit List

In Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore Business Journal reports:

• The Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region ranks fifth in the nation for metropolitan areas hardest hit by the nationwide credit crunch, with more than 160 properties in financial trouble or at risk for foreclosure, according to a new study. Industry research firm Real Capital Analytics identified 162 distressed or potentially troubled assets in the region, representing more than $4 billion in commercial real estate.(1)

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• Named in the report is General Growth Properties Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment trust selling off a number of its marquee properties to raise money and pay down $900 million in debt scheduled to come due in February. Among the properties it has put on the market are Harborplace and the Gallery, two prime retail locations along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

For more, see Commercial real estate credit crunch lands Baltimore on troubled assets ‘radar.’

(1) Reportedly, the firm identified the properties as part of its Troubled Assets Radar. The tracking system was created to identify investment opportunities for interested buyers.