HTG Heritage Property Investment

Heritage Property Investment Trust, Inc. Forms Strategic Relationship With Michigan Developer, Venture Makes First Investment BOSTON, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Heritage Property Investment Trust, Inc. ("Heritage" or the "Company"), announced today that the Company has entered into a strategic relationship with the Westwood Development Group, a well-known regional developer based in Michigan. The purpose of the joint venture will be to develop neighborhood and community shopping centers in the Midwestern U.S. Both the Company and Westwood have a long and successful track record in the region. Thomas C. Prendergast, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said, "I am very pleased to be announcing our new relationship with Mike Bowen and the Westwood team. With Westwood's knowledge and experience in the Midwest real estate market, combined with our presence in the region, I am confident that we will build a successful partnership together." Mr. Prendergast continued, "Entering into a joint venture for the development of shopping centers will increase our ability to acquire properties at attractive returns and allow us to leverage our property management and leasing talents." The Company also announced its first project with Westwood -- a joint venture to develop a shopping center to be located in Norton Shores (Muskegon), Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. The joint venture, which is owned equally by the Company and Westwood, completed the buy-out of Westwood's existing partner on the project. The Company made an initial equity investment of $3.3 million and provided a short-term bridge loan of approximately $9.1 million, which has an outside maturity date of August 2004. The center, to be called Lakes Crossing, began construction in late 2003 and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2005. Lakes Crossing, which will be located on an approximately 58.5 acre site, is situated at the intersection of US Highway 31 and Harvey Street, one of the two major retail corridors in the region and has excellent visibility from both roads. The project will contain approximately 302,000 square feet of retail space, of which 210,000 square feet will be owned by the joint venture. Lakes Crossing will be anchored by Kohl's Department Stores (which owns its 88,000 square foot parcel) and will feature a mix of national and local retailers. The joint venture has already signed lease agreements with Circuit City, Shoe Carnival, Carino's of Norton's and Logan's Roadhouse. Kohl's opened for business in April 2004. Robert G. Prendergast, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company said, "Lakes Crossing has all the earmarks of a successful project -- solid demographics, limited competition and high tenant interest. We look forward to establishing a strong partnership with Mike Bowen and the Westwood team that could lead to other exciting acquisition opportunities." ABOUT HERITAGE PROPERTY INVESTMENT TRUST, INC. Heritage is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed REIT traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTG". Heritage is one of the largest owners and operators of neighborhood and community shopping centers in the United States. Heritage focuses on grocer-anchored shopping centers with multiple anchors. As of March 31, 2004, Heritage had a shopping center portfolio of 162 centers, located in 29 states and totaling approximately 32.7 million square feet of total gross leasable area, of which 27.5 million square feet is company-owned gross leasable area. Heritage's shopping center portfolio was approximately 91.2% leased as of March 31, 2004. Heritage is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and has an additional 16 regional offices located in the Eastern, Midwestern and Southwestern United States. Some of the statements contained in this press release constitute forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause the Company's actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. You should not rely on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could materially affect actual results. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include financial performance and operations of the Company's shopping centers, including the Company's tenants, real estate conditions, current and future bankruptcies of the Company's tenants, execution of shopping center redevelopment programs, the Company's ability to finance the Company's operations, successful completion of renovations, completion of pending acquisitions, the availability of additional acquisitions, execution of joint venture opportunities, changes in economic, business, competitive market, leasing and regulatory conditions, acts of terrorism or war and other risks detailed from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release, and the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on such statements. DATASOURCE: Heritage Property Investment Trust, Inc. CONTACT: Patrick O'Sullivan, Vice President, Finance and Accounting, Heritage Property Investment Trust, Inc., +1-617-247-2200, ; Claire Koeneman (Analyst Info), +1-312-640-6745, or Joe Calabrese (General Info), +1-212-445-8434, both of Financial Relations Board, for Heritage Property Investment Trust, Inc. Web site:

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