Equity One Reports Minimal Damage from Hurricane Frances; All
Shopping Centers Are Ready to Open for Business
NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equity One, Inc. (NYSE:EQY), an owner, developer and operator of community and neighborhood
shopping centers located predominantly in high growth markets in the southern
United States, announced today that its shopping centers have incurred only
minimal damage from Hurricane Frances, which made landfall at Sewall's Point on
Florida's central Atlantic coast this past Sunday morning and then, after
passing through the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall again as a tropical storm
near St. Marks in the Florida Panhandle on Monday afternoon. Damage to the
properties was limited primarily to cosmetic matters such as landscaping and
signage, with negligible damage to facades and roofs.
Equity One property managers and maintenance personnel have been on-site at
affected properties throughout the holiday weekend attending to tenant needs,
securing the real estate and ensuring the safety of shoppers and tenants. All
Equity One properties in the affected areas are fully functional and are either
open for business or, in the case of four properties -- Mariner's Crossing,
Boynton Plaza, Bluffs Square Shoppes and Treasure Coast Plaza -- are ready to
open pending restoration of power by the local utility, which is expected
shortly. Overall, we anticipate that our out-of-pocket costs from Hurricane
Frances, net of any insurance recoveries, will be no greater than $200,000,
with the bulk of these costs capitalized into the underlying asset bases.
"We are grateful that the damage from Hurricane Frances is of a limited
nature," stated Doron Valero, President and Chief Operating Officer of Equity
One. "Our properties are intact and we are ready to continue normal operations
on Tuesday morning. We extend our thoughts to all those affected by the storm. At the same time, we are extremely proud of our employees, tenants and
vendors, both in their preparedness before the storm and in their ability to
quickly respond and restore operations in its aftermath." About Equity One, Inc.
Equity One is a real estate investment trust that principally acquires,
renovates, develops and manages neighborhood and community shopping centers
anchored by national and regional supermarket chains and other necessity-
oriented retailers such as drug stores or discount retail stores. Our 20.7
million square foot portfolio consists of 188 properties located primarily in
metropolitan areas of the southern United States, encompassing 128
supermarket-anchored shopping centers, 10 drug store-anchored shopping centers,
44 other retail-anchored shopping centers, a self-storage facility, an
industrial property and four retail developments, as well as non- controlling
interests in two unconsolidated joint ventures. For additional information,
please visit our web site at http://www.equityone.net/.
Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters discussed by Equity One in this press release constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although Equity One believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-
looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no
assurance that these expectations will be achieved. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations include changes
in macro-economic conditions and the demand for retail space in Florida, Texas,
Georgia and the other states in which Equity One owns properties; the
continuing financial success of Equity One's current and prospective tenants;
continuing supply constraints in its geographic markets; the availability of
properties for acquisition; the success of its efforts to lease up vacant
properties; the effects of natural and other disasters; the ability of Equity
One to successfully integrate the operations and systems of acquired companies
and properties; and other risks, which are described in Equity One's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For additional information at the Company:
Howard Sipzner, EVP and CFO
305-947-1664 Media Contact:
David Schull
305-446-2700
DATASOURCE: Equity One, Inc.
CONTACT: Howard Sipzner, EVP and CFO, Equity One, Inc., +1-305-947-1664, or Media, David Schull, +1-305-446-2700, for Equity One, Inc.
Web site: http://www.equityone.net/
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