The owner of New Hampshire's largest mall may be feeling lucky after landing a lease with a casino.
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Simon Property Group, owner of the The Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire, signed Live Casino late last year to fill the 159K SF that Lord & Taylor vacated in 2021.
The 20-year lease bumps occupancy up to 86%, helping the property improve its cash flow and evade potential problems on its $262M loan, according to servicer commentary released this week by Morningstar Credit.
The mall's occupancy previously stood at 55%, which was a potential threat to the asset as its loan matures next year.
“Absent other leasing activity, this addition would bring occupancy to 84%, providing a boon at a property that has been trailing underwritten figures on both occupancy and net cash flow for years as it approaches its June 2026 maturity,” Morningstar Credit wrote in an email about the lease.
Simon declined to comment on the lease.
The Salem Planning Board in December approved the casino, which plans to occupy the entire former Lord & Taylor space.
The project is estimated to cost $160M and is being developed by Tuscan Village owner Joe Faro, developer Sal Lupoli, and Baltimore, Maryland-based The Cordish Cos. Cordish owns a series of casinos and entertainment properties with the Live brand in Philadelphia, Maryland, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, Atlanta and Texas.
Simon obtained the loan from Barclays Bank and Société Générale for a 541K SF portion of the 1M SF mall. The property was built in 1991 and renovated in 2015 to include new entrances and amenities.
The mall's owner has secured other tenants, including Dick's House of Sport on the second level of a former Sears, a portion of the mall not covered by the loan. The mall welcomed another four retailers in 2024.
The mall is adjacent to Faro's Tuscan Village, a 3.8M SF project over 170 acres at the former Rockingham Park Race Track. It sits just off I-93, about 30 miles north of Boston.
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