Whitestone REIT Re-Activates Growth Plan, Acquires Lakeside Market Shopping Center in Preston Road Area of Plano, Texas

HOUSTON, July 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (or “Whitestone” or the "Company") (NYSE:WSR) today announced that it has acquired Lakeside Market, a 163,000 square-foot open-air shopping center, located at 5809 Preston Road in Plano, Texas, adjacent to the new H-E-B flagship-format grocery store, which is under construction and targeted to open in Fall 2022. Lakeside Market is Whitestone’s ninth property acquisition in its Dallas-Ft. Worth market, bringing its total leasable area in the region to approximately 831,000 square feet. This acquisition is projected to generate revenues of $2.3 million for the remainder of 2021 and $5.2 million for full year 2022.

Lakeside Market is located in the nationally recognized Platinum Corridor. According to the Dallas Business Journal, Lakeside Market is in one of Dallas’ “wealthiest zip codes”. Per Esri, the area within a 5- to 10-minute drive time of Lakeside Market has an average household income of $100,147, a median home value of $359,962, and a current population of 122,041, a 25% increase since 2000. The property currently is 80.5% occupied and faces traffic volume of 53,822 vehicles per day on Preston Road.

Lakeside Market is approved to add additional leasable square footage, which creates operational efficiencies for the Company’s existing Dallas regional management team. The center is a true “live, work, play” destination with long-standing, award-winning, predominantly eCommerce-resistant tenants who have deep roots in the community and provide a diverse range of essential goods and services and entertainment for the center’s neighboring communities.

“We are very pleased to announce that we have acquired this exceptional property, as it launches the re-activation of our strategic growth plan and meets our criteria for core markets, strategy, strengths, and attributes,” said Whitestone’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Mastandrea. “The addition of Lakeside Market to our portfolio of community-focused lifestyle properties will be our first acquisition since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020. Lakeside Market will immediately contribute to our long-term goals of improved G&A as a Percentage of Revenue and lower Debt to EBITDAre Leverage. We see strong value-add opportunity with the property’s additional pad sites entitled for development, lease-up potential and built-in lease escalators.”

“With the completion of this acquisition, we will continue progressing our due diligence on our deep pipeline of other targeted high-quality properties. In due course, we expect to initiate additional acquisitions that complement and contribute to our portfolio’s economy of scale and deliver improved returns for our shareholders, while we also remain focused on delivering operational excellence in our existing properties.”

About Lakeside Market
Lakeside Market is Whitestone REIT’s ninth property acquisition in its Dallas-Ft. Worth market, bringing its total leasable area in the region to approximately 831,000 square feet. The property is 80.5% occupied, offering significant upside opportunity with the potential for additional development on land included in the acquisition. A thriving 18-hour/24-7 property, Lakeside Market’s tenants include but are not limited to Mi Cocina, Kenny’s Burger Joint, Taverna Rossa, Bread Winners Café, Craftway Kitchen, The Board Room Salon, Stretch Zone, and Lakeside Groomer. For Lakeside Market leasing information, contact David Spagnolo at 214-824-7888.

About H-E-B
H-E-B, with sales of $28 billion, operates more than 400 stores in Texas and Mexico. Known for its innovation and community service, H-E-B celebrates its 116th anniversary this year. Recognized for its fresh food, quality products, convenient services, and a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, H-E-B strives to provide the best customer experience and lowest prices. Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs over 120,000 Partners in Texas and Mexico and serves millions of customers in more than 300 communities. For more information, visit www.HEB.com and www.HEB.com/Newsroom.

Whitestone REIT
Whitestone is a community-centered shopping center REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops, and redevelops high-quality neighborhood centers primarily in the largest, fastest-growing and most affluent markets in the Sunbelt. It seeks to create Communities That Thrive through Creating Local Connections between consumers in the surrounding communities and a well-crafted mix of local, regional and national tenants that provide daily necessities, needed services, entertainment, and experiences.

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) pays monthly dividends to its shareholders and it has consistently done so for more than 15 years. Whitestone’s strong balanced and managed capital structure provides stability and flexibility for growth and positions Whitestone to perform well through economic cycles. For additional information, please visit www.whitestonereit.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The Company intends for all such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, as applicable. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" or similar expressions or their negatives, as well as statements in future tense. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, such forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events or guarantees of future performance and our actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For a description of certain of such factors, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.