Mall owner files for bankruptcy

General Growth Properties, whose massive portfolio includes shopping malls in Northridge, West Hills, Burbank and Glendale, filed Thursday for bankruptcy protection in one of the biggest real estate failures in U.S. history. Gregory J Wilcox in the Daily News.

Filing for Chapter 11 protection in New York, the nation's second-biggest mall operator listed $29.5 billion in assets and $27.3 billion in debt.

The filing includes 129 shopping centers, including the Northridge Fashion Center, plus 11 office properties, one master planned community and six properties under development.