Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Mall of America has struck a deal with lenders to get current on its loan after missing payments since April.
The loan became current, as of December, since it was converted to interest-only through maturity, The Star Tribune first reported, adding that the mall's owner modified the terms of the $1.4 billion mortgage.
The mall just outside of Minneapolis, known as the largest mall in the country, was closed from mid-March to June due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From April to May, retail tenant collections hit a low of 33% as tenants struggled to make payments with less business, according to data firm Trepp.
The mall's owner Triple Five Group started missing payments in April, but now that it's current, owners said lenders have "strong confidence in the long-term success and viability," of the mall, CNBC reported.
"Facing these unprecedented economic times, we immediately began to work with our lending partners to address the cash flow issues created by this loss of revenue," Mall of America spokesman Dan Jasper said in a statement.
Though traffic was down even after reopening with shifts to online shopping amid the pandemic, according to Triple Five Group, it has started to rebound, especially around the holidays.
The commercial real estate services firm Green Street Advisers rates U.S. malls on a scale from A-D, based on sales per square feet.
"This is a trophy asset, and trophy assets are more likely to muddle through the pandemic than B [or] C malls," Manus Clancy, Trepp senior managing director, told CNBC, regarding Mall of America.
