Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: PEI), owner of New River Valley Mall, is celebrating the grand opening of its recently developed New River Valley Center with speakers and a ribbon cutting on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. in front of the newly-opened Best Buy store.
Speakers at the grand opening ceremony include:
- Joseph Coradino, President, PREIT Services LLC
- The Honorable Richard Ballengee, Mayor, Christiansburg
- Lance Terpenny, Town Manager, Christiansburg
- Bill Ellenbogan, President, Friends of the Huckleberry Trail
“This event celebrates our commitment to the Christiansburg area and the inception of a new retail shopping destination created by adding New River Valley Center next to New River Valley Mall,” said Joseph Coradino, President of PREIT Services. “The grand opening of New River Valley Center, featuring all new first-to-the-market stores, in conjunction with the completed redevelopment of New River Valley Mall provides the residents of greater Roanoke with new shopping choices and conveniences. We are thrilled to be here.”
On Thursday morning, PREIT will reward the first 200 shoppers at the New River Valley Center with a free commemorative tote bag filled with store coupons and gifts. The tote bags will be distributed at the New River Valley Center by local representatives from the Salvation Army. Additionally, many of these lucky shoppers will find a $10 PREIT gift card in their tote bag. The gift card can be used at any of the stores and restaurants in New River Valley Mall and New River Valley Center that accept American Express cards.
The event also will include music by local swing band Big Dog & The Fat Cats and entertainment by jugglers, magicians and stilt-walkers.
Following the grand opening ceremony at New River Valley Center, PREIT will conduct a tour of its renovated New River Valley Mall which will include the mall’s newest addition, the state-of-the-art New River Community College.
The New River Valley Center, with an entrance directly from Route 460 encompasses 164,000 square feet of retail space and features sought-after retailers Best Buy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Staples, PetSmart, Old Navy, and Shoe Carnival, all of which are currently open for business. Olive Garden and Panera Bread will open before the end of the year. Banfield Pet Hospital and Ross Dress for Less will complete the shopping center when they open in early 2008.
The New River Valley Center, combined with the New River Valley Mall, creates a new, comprehensive, and convenient shopping destination offering 64 retailers and 6 restaurants.
Strolling entertainers will be at New River Valley Center Friday through Sunday, November 16-18, between noon and 2:00 p.m. each day. For further event details, please visit www.shopnewrivervalleymall.com.
About Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, founded in 1960 and one of the first equity REITs in the U.S., has a primary investment focus on retail shopping malls and power centers. Currently, PREIT’s retail portfolio is approximately 34 million square feet and consists of 55 properties, including 38 shopping malls, 11 strip and power centers, and six properties under development. PREIT’s properties are located in 13 states in the eastern half of the United States, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region. PREIT is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Company's website can be found at www.preit.com. PREIT is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol PEI.
This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect PREIT’s current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. More specifically, PREIT’s business might be affected by uncertainties affecting real estate businesses generally as well as the following, among other factors: general economic, financial and political conditions, including changes in interest rates or the possibility of war or terrorist attacks; changes in local market conditions or other competitive or retail industry factors in the regions where our properties are concentrated; PREIT’s ability to maintain and increase property occupancy and rental rates, and risks relating to development or redevelopment activities, including construction, obtaining entitlements and managing multiple projects simultaneously. Additionally, there can be no assurance that PREIT’s actual results will not differ significantly from the estimates set forth above, or that PREIT’s returns on its developments, redevelopments or acquisitions will be consistent with the estimates outlined in press releases or other disclosures. Investors are also directed to consider the risks and uncertainties discussed in documents PREIT has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and, in particular, PREIT's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. PREIT does not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts:
Cheryl Dougherty
VP,
Marketing, 215-875-0735
or
Nurit Yaron, 215-875-0735
VP,
Investor Relations
