Could MacGyver build a shopping mall with a toothpick and a garden rake?

No. But I could

Not without duct tape and his swiss army knife. Essentials to building ANYTHING.

Just the swiss army knife. The duct tape can be substituted with torn pieces of cloth soaked in tree sap.

He could build it, but more importantly, could he lease it?

Where are ya when I need ya Bonnie?!?!

My $.02....

It could be built. Assuming you could get a C of O, the lease would probably end up being a gross deal based on a percentage of sales. After the TI's and allowances it would be a negative effective rent.

I would set up the management agreement to be leasing commissions of $100,000 psf, cuz that's the only way the management company is going to make any money on the deal. I would also set up the note (would you even need a note on a mall like that?) to be entity X, with the mortgage allowing the property management by company Y.

By the way, the officers should be ready to run FAST cuz your DSCR is going to sheyit the bed real quick.

Oh, and I'd set up X and Y as a LLC out of Nevada. Officers are not a matter of public information there from what I hear, and it would be much harder to prosecute.

How's that sound???

So, I'm thinking about the tenants that do gross deals. Old Navy wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. New York and Company? Express? No.

I'm thinking Dollar Tree or Payless.

That's the tenant you're most likely to get. Start with them.

Bonnie.
Czarina of all malls.

You're right about Express.

The Lerners are too smart.

Could MacGyver substitute his boxer shorts for the scraps of cloth he'd need? Assuming that he's had to go through all the cost-cutting issues that the rest of us have gone through, would a Chinese Army knife work?
Would he be able to qualify for insurance on the structure, seeing as it was built by him?
Would he need a permit to harvest the "green" products from the land surrounding his site? Or can he just do it because he IS Macgyver?