...If Christmas doesn't deliver the usual windfall for merchants, the pressure on landlords to rewrite lease agreements and reduce rents in 2009 could become intense, said Stan Ross, chairman of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. That could put some shopping center owners in jeopardy with their lenders, especially if they can't find replacement tenants for those that leave.
"The worst thing for a retail center is to have a lot of dark stores," said Ross, because it makes the center a depressing place to shop and can speed its demise. Fewer customers visit and more stores turn out the lights. "There is a domino effect," he said...