News Details

Whitestone REIT Announces Purchase of Terravita Marketplace in Scottsdale, Arizona

August 8, 2011

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Whitestone REIT (NYSE-AMEX: WSR – “Whitestone”), 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, announced today that it has purchased Terravita Marketplace in an all-cash transaction for $16.1 million, or $157 per leasable square foot. The fully leased Center, which contains 102,733 leasable square feet, inclusive of 51,434 square feet leased to two tenants under ground leases, is located in North Scottsdale, Arizona and represents Whitestone’s fifth acquisition in the Phoenix area since September 2010. Terravita Marketplace is anchored by Albertsons’ 47,000 square foot ground leased grocery store along with other well recognized tenants including Walgreens, The Good Egg Restaurant, Bedmart and Wells Fargo on a ground leased pad. The tenant mix is complemented by a number of small space tenants who provide needed services to the local community. The Center was purchased below replacement cost and has strong in-place cash flow.

Terravita Marketplace is surrounded by the gated golf course residential community of Terravita, which was developed by DelWebb Corporation/Pulte, with homes in the $250,000 to $1 million range. Within a 1-mile radius, the trade area for Terravita Marketplace has an average household income of over $148,000.* Additionally, the Center provides retail goods and services to the North Scottsdale and Carefree trade area that includes several other affluent communities such as Whispering Rock Estates, Desert Mountain and the Boulders Community.

“Terravita Marketplace fits our Community Centered Property business model. The Center, surrounded by residential rooftops, sits in a high-profile, major traffic artery location at Scottsdale Road and Carefree Highway,” said James C. Mastandarea, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The Center serves North Scottsdale, one of the wealthiest zip codes in the Phoenix metro area and also draws from the Carefree and Cave Creek submarkets. The Center has more nationally known tenants than some of our other Centers, and the easy access design and service type tenants of Terravita Marketplace offer several local gathering places where neighbors meet, run errands and shop. We now own and internally manage six Community Centered Properties in the greater Phoenix area, over 380,000 square feet of leasable space, with an experienced and dedicated team of Phoenix-based leasing and property management professionals.”

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE-AMEX: WSR) 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 including medical, educational, and casual dining. The largest of its approximately 800 tenants 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 Relations section of the Company's website has links to SEC filings, news releases, financial reports and investor newsletters. Whitestone REIT Acquisitions: Interested parties should contact Bradford Johnson, Whitestone REIT Director of Acquisitions, via email: bjohnson@whitestonereit.com or phone: (713) 435 2208.

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. Such statements speak only as of the time they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such statement now or in the future. 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: Sites USAJuly 2011, 2010 Estimate

Source: Whitestone REIT

Contact:

Whitestone REIT

Anne Gregory, 713-435-2221

Vice President Marketing & Investor Relations

ir@whitestonereit.com