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Photo Release -- Whitestone REIT Makes Its Initial Entry Into Austin, Texas Market With Acquisition of Davenport Village

2015-06-02 12:00 ET - News Release

HOUSTON, June 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) ("Whitestone") announced today that it has entered the fast-growing Austin, Texas market with the acquisition of Davenport Village. Davenport Village, Whitestone's 40th Community Centered Property™ in Texas and 65th overall, is a well-known retail center situated in the affluent North Austin area and located in the vicinity of many of Austin's high tech companies. The growing area is one of Austin's most desirable, with a one-mile demographic that includes average household income of $267,000 and median home values of $757,000.

Davenport Village (a)


Davenport Village (b)
Davenport Village is ideally situated in the affluent North Austin area at the busy intersection of Capital of Texas Highway and Westlake Drive. The Class-A center, which exemplifies the Company's value-add business model, has a diverse mix of service based national and local tenants who serve the needs of the surrounding communities.


Photos accompanying this release are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=33427http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=33428

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Class-A neighborhood community center with 128,934 square feet of leasable space
  • 34 tenants
  • 87% leased with considerable lease-up and value-add potential
  • Diverse group of service based tenants, with significant opportunity to provide a tenant mix to drive additional revenues and additional traffic to the center
  • Low near-term tenant rollover risk, with 50% of the tenants occupying their spaces for more than 10 years
  • Located in an established and desirable high traffic area of North Austin (over 50,000 vehicles per day pass in front of the center) with strong demographic fundamentals
  • Accretive to net operating income and funds from operations per diluted share
  • Enhances long-term cash flow and adds to overall enterprise value

The acquisition, which was completed on May 27th, was structured as an entity purchase, with Whitestone buying, from a US-based private equity fund, a real estate investment trust whose only holding was the Davenport Village center. The acquisition was funded from Whitestone's unsecured $500 million credit facility.

James C. Mastandrea, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are extremely pleased to be entering the economically-strong and fast-growing Austin, Texas market with the acquisition of this premier property. Davenport Village is situated in a highly desirable, affluent area of Austin that provides it with a strong and loyal customer base. Given the center's sense of community and diverse mix of both national and local tenants, Davenport Village is an excellent strategic fit with our existing portfolio and adheres perfectly to our Community Centered Property™ business model.

"In addition to the strategic attributes, we expect that the transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings and will add to our cash flow. Going forward, we have a number of initiatives planned that we believe will further enhance the center's top-line and bottom-line contributions."

Mr. Mastandrea concluded, "This is our first acquisition in Austin and we look forward to increasing our ownership of premier properties in this vibrant city. With this acquisition, we now have Texas-based communities in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. We look forward to integrating Davenport Village into our portfolio and to continue creating value for our shareholders."          

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) is a fully integrated real estate investment trust ("REIT") that owns, re-develops, repositions, leases, manages and operates Community Centered Properties™.  Whitestone focuses on value creation in its community centers, concentrating on local service-oriented tenants. Whitestone's diversified tenant base provides service offerings including specialty retail, grocery, restaurants, medical, educational and financial services.  Founded in 1998, the Company is internally managed with a portfolio of 65 commercial properties in Texas, Arizona, and Illinois.  For additional information about the Company, please visit www.whitestonereit.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included herein that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which by their nature, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. Reference is made to the Company's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information or factors that may impact the Company's performance.

CONTACT: Whitestone REIT:
         David K. Holeman, Chief Financial Officer
         (713) 435-2227
         dholeman@whitestonereit.com 

         Bradford Johnson, Vice President of Acquisitions
         (713) 435-2208
         bjohnson@whitestonereit.com

Whitestone REIT

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