Syracuse, N.Y. — Destiny USA is in serious trouble.
Destiny, New York’s biggest shopping mall, is buried in an almost-unimaginable load of debt.
Pyramid Management Group, the mall’s owner and operator, owes $715 million on the property. That has not changed much since Pyramid opened a big addition in 2012 and changed the mall’s name from Carousel Center to Destiny USA.
Meanwhile, time and some harsh changes in the retail business have pummeled Pyramid. The mall is now worth $203 million, according to a recent appraisal.
Think about it: $715 million owed on a mall worth slightly more than $200 million.
“The Canyon” is the name Pyramid gave to the section of the mall that holds entertainment attractions and restaurants, but the word could also be applied to the hole in which Pyramid finds itself.
This cannot go on much longer. The Covid shutdown sped up a decline that has been years in the making. Destiny’s vacant storefronts are growing, and Pyramid stopped making its mortgage payments for most of last year.
Pyramid declined to comment on its predicament. But the company recently notified city officials that it has hired counsel to explore a possible restructuring of its debt.
The company has hired Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, a law firm that advises on transactions, litigation and compliance matters, and Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, and valuation, according to the…