Company Release - 3/6/12

SAN DIEGO - American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AAT - News) (the "Company") today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and year-end December31,2011 and provided full year guidance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012.

Financial Results and Recent Developments

During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company generated funds from operations ("FFO") for common stockholders and unitholders of $16.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share/unit. For the year ended December31,2011, the Company generated FFO for common stockholders and unitholders of $57.3 million, or $1.05 per diluted share/unit, and FFO As Adjusted for common stockholders and unitholders of $60.3 million, or $1.11per diluted share/unit. FFO As Adjusted reflects adjustments to FFO for nonoperational items directly related to the Company`s initial public offering ("IPO") on January 19, 2011. Unitholders refers to holders of units of our operating partnership.

Net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.3 million, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December31,2011. For the year ended December31,2011, net income attributable to common stockholders was $2.9 million, or $0.08 per basic and diluted share.

FFO and FFO As Adjusted are non-GAAP supplemental earnings measures which the Company considers meaningful in measuring its operating performance.Reconciliations of FFO and FFO As Adjusted to net income are attached to this press release.

Portfolio Results

The portfolio leased status as of the end of the indicated quarter was as follows:

During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company signed 44 leases for approximately 186,900 square feet of retail and office space, as well as 112 multifamily apartment leases. Renewals accounted for 79.2%of the comparable retail leases, 100% of the comparable office leases and 53.6% of the residential leases.

Retail

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American Assets Trust, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2011 Financial Results

Published: Monday, March 5, 2012 at 11:17 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, March 5, 2012 at 11:17 p.m.

LAKELAND | Lakeland city commissioners voted 5-1 Monday to move forward with a new downtown development that includes 21 lofts, 14 two- and three-story town homes and 5,000 square feet of retail space.

White Challis Redevelopment Co. ,of Daytona Beach, plans to develop the 53,000 square-foot parcel in the city-owned Bay Street parking lot off Kentucky Avenue. Construction on the first phase is expected to begin in 2014.

Commissioner Keith Merritt voted against the plans. He said the development will hurt parking for businesses in the area, such as the Purple Onion restaurant.

"I have lots of concerns about that impact," said Merritt, who has a law office on Kentucky Avenue near the proposed development.

About 142 parking spaces will be lost.

The vote means the city will give a parcel that has been valued at $318,000 to White Challis. Tamara Sakagawa, Lakeland Community Redevelopment Manager, said the city should recoup its investment in about six years through property taxes and revenue from the economic development created by the new residences.

The new development will be called New Southern Square.

Mitch Harvey, who owns nearby Mitchell's Coffeehouse, said no one has given him anything during his 15 years of owning a business.

"It's a concern if we are giving land away," Harvey said. "I hope it doesn't become a practice."

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Commission Approves Use of Downtown Lot for Development

San Diego ranks fourth this year in economic and retail real estate fundamentals, according to Marcus & Millichap real estate investment services.

The area is likely to strengthen as jobs grow, construction declines and rents rise.

"San Diego's retail sector will once again outperform other Southern California markets in 2012," the firm said in its 2012 national retail report.

In 2011 San Diego ranked third behind Washington, D.C., and New York. But this year those markets have slipped a few notches on weaker employment growth and been replaced by San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle. The Top 3 benefit from "strong ties to technology and tourism, solid prospects for employment and population gains, and significant improvement in space fundamentals."

The firm's National Retail Index is based on cumulative weighted-average scores covering employment, vacancy, construction and rents.

In its analysis, Marcus & Millichap said San Diego will have the second lowest retail vacancy rate nationally, 4.2 percent, trailing No. 1 San Francisco at 3.1 percent. The national rate is projected 9.2 percent.

Prospects look good this year locally for discounter and grocer expansion in blue-collar neighborhoods. Increased tourist and business travel and office users will mean higher "hospitality-related space demand," from downtown into North County.

Key statistics include:

For investors, the best prospects lie in grocery-anchored centers and corporate-backed, single-tenant assets. Facing rising demand for the best projects, the company predicts growing interest "tertiary areas" with "acceptable" demographics and lease terms.

roger.showley@utsandiego.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: rmshowley; Facebook: SDUTshowley

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San Diego retail vacancy 2nd lowest in U.S.

By Katie Nowak Roberts The Record

City and County officials L-R Rensselaer County Chamber President, Lynn Kopka Troy City Council President, Kris Thompson representative for Senator Roy McDonald, Elizabeth Young of the Troy BID, Troy Mayor Lou Rosamilia, County Exec Kathy Jimino, Michael Uccellini President and CEO United Group of Companies, Nigham Sheikh Subway oencer cut the ribbon at the at City Station West, second from right. (Mike McMahon /The Record)

TROY The first business to occupy the retail space at City Station West opened its doors Monday, as the Subway sandwich shop held a ribbon cutting attended by a host of local officials.

Subway, which has another downtown Troy location in Monument Square, became the latest member of the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District, and BID Executive Director Elizabeth Young said it was exciting to finally welcome City Stations first commercial tenant.

"Projects like City Station have proven to be an economic booster to the citys businesses, adding to the growing vitality of Troy and solidifying the connection between the citys colleges and its downtown," Young said. "We are overjoyed to be cutting the ribbon on the first new business in a new building, on a whole new block here in our downtown."

The City Station project received stimulus funding through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which spurred a $7 million road and infrastructure reconstruction project along the Congress-Ferry corridor that was finished in November 2010. City Station, located on Sixth Avenue between Congress and Ferry streets, was completed during a whirlwind six-month construction schedule last year. It has 48 apartments that are reserved for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate students, and the buildings first floor has 17,000 square feet of retail space, with future tenants Paesans Pizza, Supercuts and Mamora Caf set to move in soon.

Another identical complex, City Station South, is currently under construction across the street, Young said, and is scheduled to be completed sometime in August. The success of the current complex and speed with which the second is coming together is exciting, she said.

"As we stood there today cutting the ribbon, you could hear the large pile-driver that was at work across the street (and) it kind of made me realize that we really have come full circle, but a whole new stage has started," Young said.

Subway owner Nigham Sheikh, who participated in the ribbon-cutting, said it felt "very good" to finally open the business.

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Subway sandwich shop opens at City Station West

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., March 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Representatives from the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico (SHC-NM), Los Alamos National Bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), and a plethora of local and state officials gathered Thursday, March 1, to celebrate the opening of Silver Gardens II, the second and final phase of Silver Gardens Apartments.

Photos accompanying this release are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11902

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11903

Silver Gardens Apartments is a mixed-income housing development in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The project houses an integrated tenant mix, ranging from units for very low-income tenants to units that are leased at market rate. The units are a mix of studios, and one and two-bedroom units. The U-shaped, four-story structure with a private interior courtyard incorporating Native American art, play structures, and a community garden occupies a city block bordered by First and Second streets and Silver Avenue. Phase I, consisting of 66 rental homes, was completed in Spring 2010 and is fully occupied.

Silver Gardens II contains 55 units, 14 of which were set aside as permanent supportive housing for residents with special needs.

The project leveraged an array of city, state, federal, and conventional financing. Sources of funds include a conventional first mortgage, housing tax credit proceeds, and a city of Albuquerque Workforce Housing Grant. The adjacent parking garage was funded by $3.4 million from the city of Albuquerque.

FHLB Dallas and Los Alamos National Bank awarded Silver Gardens II a $315,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant in 2010.

"We are very pleased to be involved and appreciate the investment FHLB Dallas has made through the AHP. We're excited to see the impact this new development will have on our community," said Jill Cook, senior vice president of Los Alamos National Bank.

Al Hernandez, a senior banking officer at Los Alamos National Bank, attended the grand opening ceremony Thursday, and touted the benefits of Silver Gardens to Albuquerque.

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Photo Release -- Los Alamos National Bank and FHLB Dallas Grant Assists in Construction of Final Phase of Silver ...

Two national retail chains, ROSS DRESS FOR LESS and FRANCESCAS COLLECTIONS, have started construction on Springfield stores, and a third, DSW SHOES, has filed for a construction permit.

Ross Dress for Less has begun conversion of the former Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts space in the Southwest Plaza shopping center at 3137 S. Veterans Parkway. Francescas is remodeling space in White Oaks Mall.

The lease already has been signed, said Connie Wong, corporate spokeswoman for Ross Dress For Less.

She said she could not yet discuss an opening date, but the store will have about 50 full- and part-time employees.

Springfield will become the southernmost market in Illinois for the California-based retailer. The company is opening two stores this weekend in the Chicago area, bringing its total in that market to 14. Ross Dress For Less has more than 1,000 stores in 29 states and $8.6 billion in annual revenues.

DSW Shoes also plans to move into Southwest Plaza, in a space next to PetSmart. The company has not announced a construction schedule, but it has filed for a renovation permit with the city Building and Zoning Department.

Francescas Collections is a womens clothing and accessories boutique targeted to 18-to-35-year-olds, according to the company website. The store is expected to open in April, mall representatives say.

HELZBERG DIAMONDS, meanwhile, has temporarily relocated within the mall while its existing space is remodeled and expanded. KIRLIN'S HALLMARK has also moved to a larger space at the mall. The projects are part of a major mall renovation scheduled for completion this spring.

***

Employees of TOWN AND COUNTRY BANK of Springfield have committed to more than 500 community-service hours as part of the banks 50th anniversary celebration.

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Tim Landis: New stores starting construction

by Edward Gately - Mar. 2, 2012 10:30 AM The Republic | azcentral.com

Many Fountain Hills residents have been waiting a long time to see commercial development on the south side of downtown's Avenue of the Fountains off Saguaro Boulevard.

Will residents finally see something materialize this year?

In 2007, the land was rezoned to encourage mixed-use development. The next year, the Town Council entered a development agreement for the Fountain Hills Town Square, which called for 490,000 square feet of theater, retail, restaurant, office and residential on 15 acres. But financing fell through with the onset of the recession.

Now, a new plan has surfaced to build a smaller, $28 million entertainment complex. The Avenue would include a 2,226-seat, 12-screen movie theater -- the town's first theater -- and new retail, restaurant and office space. The 6.5-acre site is at the southwestern corner of the Avenue of the Fountains and Verde River Drive, near the Fountain Hills Community Center and Centennial Circle.

The project totals more than 155,200 square feet.

The partners in the latest development are GMK Building and Development, the Fackler Trust,Haffar Entertainment Group and Sivers Cos. California-basedHaffar Entertainment would operate the theater.

George Kasnoff of GMK Building and Development and Dave Fackler of Nielsen-Fackler Planning & Development are heading up the project.

On Feb. 2, the council approved a concept plan and development agreement. The approvals came with several stipulations, such as the completion of a traffic impact study, a landscaping plan and a reduction in parking on the south side to increase the setback from the Village at Towne Center, a nearby condominium community.

Wendy Kelleher, a member of the Village's HOA board, said she and other residents had concerns about the complex and parking being too close to their complex.

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Fountain Hills could be strolling The Avenue

The Tuscaloosa Riverwalk development is seen in Tuscaloosa on Thursday. Another Broken Egg and Orange Leaf Yogurt, which are new to the Tuscaloosa market, will be among the restaurants in the Riverwalk condo-retail development that will open later this year.

TUSCALOOSA | An upscale brunch restaurant and a frozen yogurt shop will be among the first retailers at Riverwalk Place, the luxury condominium-retail development under construction on the citys Riverwalk.

Another Broken Egg Cafe and Orange Leaf Yogurt, both new to the Tuscaloosa area, are expected to open in late summer on the first floor of the development overlooking the Black Warrior River, said Brandon Clark, a real estate agent for the projects developer, Bill Lunsford Construction & Development in Northport.

Construction is coming along great, Clark said of the $14 million project, which will include 22 luxury condo units, plus another restaurant and four additional retail shops.

He said Lunsford hopes to have the projects certificate for occupancy for all the units from city building inspectors by Sept. 15. The certificate is the final approval needed before occupancy.

The project has 15 sales contracts for the condo units, and Clark said Lunsford hopes to announce more retail tenants soon. The one- and two-bedroom condos will be on the two upper floors of the two-building project. The condos prices start at $475,000.

Clark said inside finishing work has started on one of the buildings, which has been enclosed, and the roof will soon be in place on the second building.

Inquiries have picked up for the remaining retail space, Clark said.

When he announced the project last fall, Bill Lunsford said he was being selective in recruiting the retail tenants.

We are trying to bring in new businesses that are not in Tuscaloosa for everyone to enjoy, he said at the time.

Excerpt from:
Riverwalk will include upscale cafe, yogurt shop

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The YMCA of Greater Cleveland will move its downtown branch into the Galleria at Erieview, illustrating how developers and tenants are dreaming up creative ways to remake old retail space.

A 40,000-square-foot fitness facility, including a three-lane lap pool, will fill the southeast section of the glassed-in former mall in downtown Cleveland.

Building owner Werner Minshall plans to donate the space to the YMCA, which will undertake a $9 million renovation that could be finished in early 2014.

The deal is a much-needed win for an iconic property in a key downtown district.

For years, the Galleria has scrabbled to stay alive by leasing space to non-retail tenants and booking weddings and events. As owners of empty shopping centers have turned to churches, offices and business incubators to fill space, the greenhouse-like Galleria has garnered attention for growing herbs in its central atrium for local restaurants.

The YMCA will fill a large hole, once leased to stores including The Limited. The downtown gym, which has 3,650 members and hopes to surpass 5,500 members at the new location, could boost traffic in the parking garage, the food court and the neighborhood.

"It has been what I would call a loss leader for us for seven or eight years," Minshall said of the property. "We've managed to make do, and now with this deal we've finally turned the corner. Once it's done, the Galleria will be profitable."

After the donation, the nonprofit YMCA will essentially own a business condominium and pay fees to help operate the building.

Since 1911, the YMCA has maintained its offices and downtown branch in a historic brick building at 2200 Prospect Ave.

In 2009, Cleveland State University acquired the building, which includes 148 apartments, and leased the fitness facility and offices back to the YMCA. The university hopes to find a developer to remake the building, and nearby properties, for student housing.

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YMCA to move downtown branch into Galleria, taking 30 percent of the former mall's retail space

FARGO A south Fargo retail space that has long sat dormant is stirring to life.

The structure that once housed Media Play in the 4000 block of 13th Avenue South will soon be home to a DSW shoe store now under construction, building permit information filed with the city shows.

Elsewhere in the same structure, construction is expected to begin soon on space that will become an Old Navy store.

The new store will replace the current Old Navy store on 13th Avenue in West Fargo.

In addition, part of the space that housed Media Play, which closed in 2005, will be remodeled for use by Bremer Bank.

And thats not all.

A LongHorn Steakhouse will be going up soon in the former Media Play parking lot.

The restaurant is the brands first foray into North Dakota.

Likewise, the new DSW store, which offers discount designer shoes, will be the companys first store in North Dakota.

All of this development is in addition to an Ulta Beauty store that opened late last year in the same general area.

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Media Play building, parking lot see new life