The Chicago-based owner of the Maine Mall faces bankruptcy if it can't refinance or extend nearly $1 billion in debt scheduled to mature next month, casting uncertainty on the future of Maine's largest retail establishment.

General Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust, revealed Monday in a statement filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission that it can't meet its current debt obligations and is uncertain it will be able to accommodate its lenders given a weak retail market and tight credit market. The company said it is examining ways to generate capital from a variety of sources, including the sale of its properties. David Keating, a spokesman for the company, did not return phone calls by press time.

Even if the company was to meet its nearly $1 billion in debt obligations next month, a further $3 billion in debt is due to mature next year, according to its SEC filing. "Our potential inability to address our 2008 or 2009 debt maturities in a satisfactory fashion raises substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern," the filing said.

General Growth Properties purchased the Maine Mall in October 2003. The sale price was $270 million, according to the Portland Press Herald.