HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Whitestone REIT (NYSE-Amex: WSR – “Whitestone”), a real estate
investment trust that acquires, owns and operates Community Centered
PropertiesTM, today announced that Rebellion Photonics, an
innovative optics technology start-up company, has leased 5,269 square
feet of office space at Plaza Park Business Center, a medical-themed
Community Center located in Houston’s Medical Center District.
Rebellion Photonics has patented a revolutionary portable snapshot
technology that allows users to detect an object’s chemical composition
while instantaneously capturing the chemical’s image with a real-time
video camera. Applications for this portable chemical detection
technology include security and defense, pharmaceutical manufacturing,
agriculture, scientific research, and energy exploration. Rebellion
Photonics is currently targeting the $3.7B rig safety market with its
Gas Cloud Imaging camera. Since inventing the technology at Rice
University in 2009, Rebellion Photonics has won numerous awards and has
received over $3 million in grants from prestigious institutions
including the National Institute of Health and the State of Texas
Emerging Technology Fund. The Plaza Park office location will serve as
Rebellion Photonics’ corporate headquarters.
“The inclusion of Rebellion Photonics to the tenant mix at Plaza Park
Business Center will greatly add to the medical and technological
synergy at the Center,” said James C. Mastandrea, Whitestone’s Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud to be a part of Rebellion
Photonics’ early entrepreneurial development. In line with our small
space leasing strategy, as Rebellion Photonics’ business grows and
expands in the upcoming years, Whitestone’s business will grow as well
by accommodating any of its future space needs, resulting in a true
win-win situation.”
Dick Vaughan, Vice President of Leasing Development, represented
Whitestone REIT as landlord and Julie King of CRESA Partners represented
the tenant in the transaction.
About Whitestone REIT
Whitestone REIT is a fully integrated real estate company that owns,
operates and re-develops Community Centered PropertiesTM,
which are visibly located properties in established or developing
culturally diverse neighborhoods. Whitestone focuses on value-creation
in its Centers, as it markets, leases and manages its Centers to match
tenants with the shared needs of surrounding neighborhoods. Operations
are structured for providing cost-effective service to local
service-oriented smaller space tenants (less than 3,000 square feet).
Whitestone has a diversified tenant base concentrated on service
offerings such as medical, education, and casual dining. The largest of
its over 800 comprises less than 2% of its rental revenues.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas and founded in 1998, the Company is
internally managed with a portfolio of commercial properties in Texas,
Arizona, and Illinois. For additional information about the Company,
please visit www.whitestonereit.com.
The investor section of the Company's website has links to SEC filings,
news releases, financial reports and investor newsletters.
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.
Source: Whitestone REIT
Contact:
Whitestone REIT
Anne Gregory, 713-435-2221
Vice
President Marketing & Investor Relations
agregory@whitestonereit.com