URW Goes Delinquent on Another Maryland Mall
The Paris-based owner missed the March maturity payment on a $235 million CMBS loan from Credit Suisse
By Nick Trombola and Brian Pascus April 22, 2025 5:10 pm
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Another sprawling Maryland mall owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) is in the doghouse, having missed the maturity date on its debt last month.
URW’s Westfield Wheaton, a 1.7 million-square-foot mall on the northern outskirts of Washington, D.C., was transferred to special servicing after failing to meet the March maturity on a $234.6 commercial mortgage-backed securities package tied to the property, according to Morningstar Credit. The special servicer is “exploring workouts” with URW on the debt, which was originated by a Credit Suisse affiliate in 2015.
The CMBS package — CSAIL 2015-C1, CSAIL 2015-C2, & CSAIL 2015-C3 — is a conduit transaction owned by URW. The package is split into three trusts: 2015-C1 holds a $42.62 million piece, CSAIL 2015-C2 carries a $95 million piece, and CSAIL 2015-C3 has a $97 million piece, per Trepp.
Despite a 99 percent occupancy rate at the 1960-built mall at 11160 Veirs Mill Road in Wheaton, Md., 2024 net cash flow was 12 percent below underwritten levels, per Morningstar. The mall currently has 89 stores that include AMC Theaters, H&M and Foot Locker, while the anchor tenants include Costco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Macy’s and Target.
A representative for URW did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Westfield Wheaton appears to be dealing with a COVID-19 hangover. The Los Angeles Business Journal reported in 2021 that Paris-based URW planned to unload the mall to reduce its exposure to U.S. retail and focus on the European market.
CEO of URW Jean-Marie Tritant said at the time: “We are implementing a program to significantly reduce our U.S. footprint once the investment markets reopen, which should happen as soon as the economy rebounds.”
The distress echoes that of the Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda, about six miles west of Westfield Wheaton. A $350 million CMBS package tied to that 1.3 million-square-foot retail center, also owned by URW, was also transferred to special servicing around this time last year ahead of its maturity date.
While the valuation on the Montgomery mall had essentially halved since the loan’s 2014 origination — $353 million in 2024 compared to $680 million 10 years prior — URW in the fall managed to secure an extension on that debt until August 2026.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com. Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com.
