WP Realty creates opportunities in today's challenging real estate marketplace

During the 15 years that WP Realty has been in business, the company has created a profitable niche for itself by finding and acquiring underperforming grocery or drug-anchored shopping centers with significant vacancy or a redevelopment/expansion opportunity, and turning them around. According to Bryan Weingarten, CEO, "This 'can do' entrepreneurial approach serves us well in today's challenging marketplace, and I believe is the key to surviving and prospering in tough economic times. Our specialty is to look outside the box and find opportunity that is not that apparent." In the New York area, recent acquisitions for the company's portfolio include: * Columbia Plaza, a 136,180 s/f center anchored by Price Chopper in Rensselaer; * Troy Plaza, a 129,526 s/f center anchored by Big Lots in Troy; * Malone Plaza, a 179,170 s/f center anchored by Kmart in Malone; * Walden Village, a 209,459 s/f center anchored by Burlington Coat Factory in Cheektowaga; and * Colonie Plaza, a 150,794 s/f retail shopping center anchored by Price Chopper in Albany. Both Columbia Plaza and Troy Plaza are located in New York's capital region, one of the fastest growing areas in the state. A newly remodeled Price Chopper anchors Columbia Plaza and provides a strong draw as the dominant supermarket in the area. Troy Plaza was acquired as part of a portfolio of shopping centers totaling 700,000 s/f, and the value added strategy for this property is to lease up the 31,177 s/f anchor space. Malone Plaza is a well-located community shopping center, and the dominant retail destination in an area with little competition. It provided considerable upside with lease up of the available 53,747 s/f of retail space. Thanks to the company's broad-based local market and tenant knowledge and deep network of national corporate relationships, it is currently 93% occupied. Walden Village in Cheektowaga has a vacant 104,245 anchor space that provides considerable upside potential for this property. At Colonie Plaza, Price Chopper expressed interest in relocating from its current 60,000 s/f space to an alternate location whereby they could occupy a new 69,000± s/f grocery store. The redevelopment strategy for this property included the expansion of Price Chopper, creation of two junior anchor spaces (totaling 60,000 s/f) and the lease-up of the current vacancy. As part of Phase I, existing tenants were relocated and 70,000 s/f of existing buildings were demolished. The new Price Chopper store at Colonie Plaza continues its construction with an anticipated opening date in the spring of next year. As its completion nears, the focus will turn to Phase II of the redevelopment of the shopping center which consists of converting the old Price Chopper building into inline specialty stores. The project will also include improvements to the balance of the shopping center including new parking lots, facades, lighting, landscaping and pylon sign. The new Price Chopper store is receiving extensive press coverage as one of the first LEED-certified grocery stores in the state. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a certification program of the U.S. Green Building Council designed to encourage environmentally friendly construction practices. Price Chopper partnered with the New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) during the design phase in order to qualify for various tax incentives from the agency under its green building programs. WP has been contacted by Solar Energy Systems and NYSERDA regarding a possible grant to design Phase II of the project using a solar thermal trigeneration system, as they look for a showcase site within the capital district. Price Chopper hopes to use the store as a prototype for their future supermarkets that will implement green building improvements across the northeast. A fuel cell will supply 60% of the supermarket's electricity requirements, as well as 400 kilowatts of standby power, and the store will also recover heat from its refrigeration equipment to use as space heating. WP Realty has had extensive experience in developing, redeveloping and expanding grocery stores, including the expansion of several Shaw's Supermarkets at Capitol Shopping Center in Augusta, Me., at Shaw's Plaza in Ashland, Mass. and at Lordens Plaza in Milford, N.He. Once redevelopment is complete, a small grocery has been transformed into a brand new full size prototypical store for that tenant. Redevelopment often includes the beautification of the site and façade, which leads to the revitalization of the entire shopping center, benefiting all the tenants as well as the community as a whole. In upstate New York, WP Realty recently sold a portfolio of three shopping centers to Erez Capital Fund Inc.: Irondequoit Plaza in Irondequoit near Rochester, St. Lawrence Plaza in Massena and Saranac Lake Plaza in Saranac Lake, near Lake Placid. For several recent portfolio sales the company has continued to manage the properties after the sale, using its expertise in leasing, management and development to benefit the new owner, and it will continue to manage this portfolio as well. Weingarten commented that, "WP Realty is poised to take advantage of opportunities to acquire assets from distressed sellers, and are in a better position than most in that we can use our private equity funds, and are not wholly dependent on bank loans to make the deals." Since its founding, WP Realty has acquired more than 63 retail properties, and currently owns and/or operates ten million square feet of retail space. The company is currently raising capital for its latest real estate equity fund, WP Real Estate Fund V, L.P., which will continue to pursue a value-added strategy of acquiring, developing, repositioning, leasing and operating properties throughout the northeast, mid-atlantic and southeast.