T
he owner of the land beneath Orlando's Fashion Square mall has expressed skepticism about a recent listing for the retail ghost town. The Dallas-based brokerage Edge listed the mall, located at 3201 East Colonial Drive, as an opportunity to create a $500 million mixed-use development. However, local developer Chuck Whittall and his firm Unicorp National Developments, which owns the land, are not convinced.

    Whittall has long been interested in redeveloping the mall into a mixed-use hub, but a previous deal with a New York developer fell through due to onerous ground lease terms. The lease requires that any new development pay a percentage of sales or rent to Unicorp, making it difficult for lenders to secure financing.

    The mall was built in 1972 and the 99-year ground lease is set to expire in 2071, at which point Unicorp will own both the land and the building. Whittall's firm is unwilling to pay Bancorp, the subsidiary of The Bancorp that owns the building, for the property, citing the $200,000 monthly losses it incurs on the ground lease. "Who wants to pay for something that's losing $200,000 a month?" Whittall asked.