PHILADELPHIA, PA — Shopping center owners and developers who find themselves struggling with a project that is over-burdened with debt are increasingly confronted by challenges that may seem insurmountable. Algon Group, a leading financial restructuring and investment banking firm, recently completed a major real estate restructuring/sale assignment that highlights the issues involved in overcoming obstacles that may be associated with an over-leveraged capital structure, and finding successful solutions. Commercial real estate projects are frequently capitalized based on projections and models. Rents, escalations, occupancy and expenses are all educated guesses based on past trends. Minor changes in these variables can often cause major changes in the cash flow. Macro changes in market dynamics historically have not been factored into the calculation. The issues surrounding an aggressively-leveraged capital structure can multiply rapidly if an adequate cash cushion is not provided in the initial capitalization.