General Growth x 2?

Downtown development may have two GGPs to contend with in the future. The company is proposing to split itself into two as part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

GGP will continue to operate the Mall in Columbia. A newly created General Growth Opportunities will oversee the company's Columbia holdings. Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management Inc., one of the world’s largest real estate investors and asset managers, would take a big stake in GGO.

The Sun's ExploreHoward blog quotes Gregory Hamm, vice president for master planned communities for GGP, saying the new business organization would still have to hew to the county's recently approved plan for downtown.

“What we’ve said all along with respect to the zoning and the master plan process of Columbia (is) good planning and zoning runs with the land,” he said. “So Columbia’s not going anywhere.”

The deal is still not final. It must receive bankruptcy court approval.