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Legal Definition Of A Shopping Center

We have all kinds of shopping centers from the smallest strip center up to the super centers. In a case in a federal bankruptcy court, the court was required to distinguish between a “shopping center” and other types of retail properties. The federal bankruptcy code did not define the term. The Third Circuit provided the following 14 elements to be used in determining whether a property is a shopping center.

• A combination of leases;
• All leases held by a single landlord;
• All tenants engaged in the commercial retail distribution of goods;
• The presence of a common parking area;
• Contractual interdependence of the tenants as evidenced by restrictive use provisions in the leases;
• The purposeful development of the premises as a shopping center;
• The existence of a master lease;
• The existence of fixed hours during which all stores are open;
• The existence of joint advertising;
• The existence of percentage rent provisions in the leases;
• The right of the tenants to terminate their leases if the anchor tenant terminates its lease;
• Joint participation by tenants in trash removal and other maintenance;
• The existence of a tenant mix; and

•  The contiguity of the store.