Fitch Revises Public Storage's Outlook to Positive; Affirms IDR at 'A-'

NEW YORK, NY-- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the following ratings of Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) and its affiliate, Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. (collectively, PSA or the company):

Public Storage

--Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A-';

--$300.0 million unsecured credit facility at 'A-';

--$3.5 billion preferred securities at 'BBB+';

Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc.

--IDR at 'A-';

--$410.9 million senior unsecured notes at 'A-'.

In addition, Fitch has revised PSA’s Rating Outlook to Positive from Stable.

For a complete copy of Fitch Ratings' news release, please contact Sandro Scenga, Sean Pattap or Steven Marks at the phone numbers and e-mails listed at the bottom of this release.

PSA’s ratings are supported by the cash flows generated by the company’s sizeable portfolio of over 2,100 self-storage facilities in 38 states within the United States and seven Western European countries.

The 'A-' IDR further echoes management’s opportunistic approach toward self-storage property acquisitions and refinancings through economic cycles. PSA’s ‘A-’ IDR is also supported by the company’s solid risk-adjusted capitalization and large unencumbered asset pool with an undepreciated book value of $10.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2007.

Moreover, the ratings reflect PSA’s ratio of undepreciated stabilized unencumbered properties to unsecured debt and preferred stock of 2.6x as of Dec. 31, 2007.

CONTACTS:

Sandro Scenga

Director

Corporate Communications

Fitch Ratings

1-212-908-0278

sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com

Sean Pattap

1 212 908 0642

Steven Marks

1 212 908 9161

Orange County, FL Comptroller Martha Haynie Receives University of West Florida Award

ORLANDO, FL – Martha Haynie has been honored by the University of West Florida National Alumni Association as a Distinguished Alumnus. Haynie received the award at University of West Florida’s Annual Alumni Brunch on April 5th in Pensacola.

The awards are given each year in recognition to those who work to help and promote the university, the alumni association, and the more than 58,000 Argo alumni.

Ms. Haynie was chosen for her significant achievements as Orange County Comptroller.
Haynie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of West Florida in 1973 and began working at Walt Disney World immediately after graduating.

She attained her CPA certification in 1980, and has been Orange County Comptroller for the past 20 years. Active in the community in a variety of roles, Haynie is a founding trustee of the Florida Local Government Investment Trust, board member and past president for the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Hamilton Holt School of Rollins College.

In 1998 she was named outstanding CPA in Government by the Florida Institute of CPAs.

In accepting the award, Ms Haynie said, “The University of West Florida has given me and so many of my family members the foundations for successful professional careers, and it is a special treat to be back on campus to receive this honor.”

CONTACTS:

Joan Randolph

Executive Assistant

Comptroller's Administration

201 S. Rosalind Avenue

Orlando, Florida, 32801

Tele: 407-836-5986

Fax: 407-836-5599

Stirling Sotheby's International Realty to Auction Downtown Orlando Office Suites Valued at More than $30M USD on May 15

(Photo of The Plaza on Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando by Joe Burbank of Orlando Sentinel. From left: Paul Ellis, managing director, North Florida business unit, Trammell Crow Co.; Cameron Kuhn, CEO, Kuhn Cos., Orlando; Tom Cook, principal, Tom Cook Commercial, Orlando.)

Absolute Auction Includes More Than 20 Office Suites Owned by Orlando Developer Cameron Kuhn (top left photo)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty will offer more than 20 Plaza office condominium suites to bidders in an absolute auction starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 in the ballroom at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 191 E. Pine St. in downtown Orlando.

Roger Soderstrom, (top right photo) founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said approximately 117,000 square feet of office space will be offered in the auction. There are no reserve bids and no minimum bids, Soderstrom explained.

Most of the office suites to be auctioned range in size from 2,600 square feet of space to 3,500 square feet. Several of the office suites include private balconies with view of downtown Orlando, Soderstrom said.

The largest single auction item –– The Plaza’s entire 10th floor of the North and South Towers, with connecting suite –– totals more than 61,000 square feet and comprise the largest single office floor in the downtown Orlando area. Soderstrom said the 10th floor lot can be divided or purchased as a unit.

All of the office space to be auctioned is owned by or controlled by Cameron Kuhn, developer of The Plaza.

Construction of The Plaza, downtown Orlando’s largest mixed-use project, with two circular towers, which include 394,000 square feet office condominium space and 105,000 square feet of retail space, began in October of 2004.

Soderstrom said shell office space in The Plaza was offered at pre-construction prices, in early 2004, starting from $205 USD per square foot.

Current asking prices range from $245 per square foot to $285 USD.

Buyers/new owners will complete all finish construction before moving in, Soderstrom said. Typical finish construction prices range from $50 per square foot to $65 per square foot. (Panormaic view of Downtown Orlando is at left)

The total value of the office suites to be auctioned is estimated at more than $30 million USD, Soderstrom said.

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty auctioneers Jon and Lori Chipps will conduct the auction. Bids will be accepted live in person and online.

To learn more or to register for the auction, visit http://www.auctionsby/Stirling.com or telephone toll free (800) 944-2592.

For more information, contact

Jon Chipps, Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-588-1260

Roger Soderstrom, Owner/Founder Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-588-1260

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Fitch: Liberty Property Trust’s Conservative Leverage Levels Support Ratings

(Comcast Center, a 58-story, 1.25-million-sf, 975-foot tall, class A office location at 1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown Philadelphia, is a Liberty Property Trust asset.)

NEW YORK, NY-- Liberty Property Trust’s (Liberty) leverage, risk-adjusted capital and unencumbered asset coverage ratios remain at levels commensurate with a ‘BBB+’ Issuer Default Rating (IDR), but are balanced by Liberty’s weakening coverage ratios, according to the latest credit analysis update by Fitch Ratings.

Fitch affirmed Liberty's 'BBB+' IDR on March 12 with a Stable Outlook. Fitch’s current Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) for Liberty are as follows: Liberty Property Trust --IDR ‘BBB+’. Liberty Property Limited Partnership --IDR ‘BBB+’.

Primary credit strengths include the following:

--Solid unencumbered asset coverage;

--Manageable debt maturity and lease expiration schedules;

--Conservative leverage and adequate risk-adjusted capitalization; and

--Solid, albeit weakening, same-store operating performance Primary credit concerns include the following:

--Adjusted funds from operations payout ratio in excess of 100%;

--Declining trend in coverage ratios;

--Concentration of net rental income from Pennsylvania / New Jersey region; and

--Lease-up risk from development pipeline.

Fitch's latest credit analysis update on Liberty, which was published on April 15, provides more detail supporting Fitch’s ratings, and is available on the Fitch Ratings web site at http://www.fitchratings.com/.

Contact:

Steven Marks

+1-212 908-9161 or

Janice Svec

+1-212-908-0304,

New York.

NAI Realvest Executive to Lead Seminar at 2008 ICSC Recon Convention May 20

ORLANDO, FL – Mez Birdie, (top right photo) director of retail services at NAI Realvest, has been appointed to lead a major seminar during the 2008 International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) RECON Convention on Tuesday, May 20 in Las Vegas. (City skyline photo above)

George Livingston, (top left photo) chairman at NAI Reavlest, said Birdie’s seminar, Seal the Deal: Brokers and Managers Working Together, will focus on how the shared expertise of brokers and property managers can help “seal a deal” faster and more often than if each specialty works separately.

A panel of seasoned commercial property executives will discuss factors involved in creating the perfect sharing relationship before deal negotiations begin, Livingston said.

“Mez Birdie is one of the most highly qualified and experienced retail property experts in the southeast,” said Livingston. “He has developed new approaches to deal structures and investment brokerage that are being copied by commercial property brokers all across the country,” Livingston said.

For more information, please contact:

Mez Birdie, Director of Retail Services NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989

George Livingston, Chairman, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989

Janice Paiano, Marketing Director NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 jpaiano@realvest.com;

Beth Payan or Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Awarded Contract to Design Facilities for New Bloom Store in Concord, N.C.

ORLANDO, FL – Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Inc., based in Orlando, has been awarded a contract to design unique retail facilities totaling 62,000 square feet at Christenbury Corners (top photo) retail center in Concord, North Carolina.

Lonnie Peterson, (top right photo) chairman at Cuhaci & Peterson, said the project includes a 38,000 square foot Bloom grocery store – the exclusive new retailing concept Food Lion is unveiling in its southeastern and mid-Atlantic markets that’s billed as “a different kind of grocery store, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”

The new designed facilities also include another 24,000 square feet of retail shops. ((Photo of James E. "Jed" Downs, president, Cuhaci & Peterson, at top left)

Bloom grocery stores focus on eye-catching architecture and unique layout to maximize shopper convenience, with a wide range of special features and amenities that range from special sales to a highly motivated service staff that holds pep rallies in the aisles during shopping hours, Peterson said.

“They want to revolutionize the grocery shopping experience so architecture and design – to create a new sense of space – play an important role,” said Peterson. (Photo of Bloom Grocery at Accokeek, MD, at left above)

For more information, contact:

Jed Downs, President Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, 407-661-9100

Lonnie Peterson, Chairman Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, 407-661-9100

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications, Inc. 407-644-4142

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $23.4M Loan for Apartment Asset in Buena Vista, CA

BUENA PARK, Calif.– Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged a $23.4 million fixed-rate loan for the acquisition of a 184-unit apartment complex located at 7400 Artesia Blvd. in Buena Park.

Jake Roberts and Anita Paryani, senior directors in the firm’s West Los Angeles office, arranged the financing package for the Brookstone Apartments (top photo).

“The borrower purchased the property as a value-added opportunity with more than $12,000 per unit in capital reserves for repairs and upgrades,” states Roberts. “We convinced the lender that the borrower would be able to achieve post-rehab rents based on the surrounding market and improvements planned for the property.” As a result, MMCC was able to provide the borrower with the terms they required in the midst of this challenging lending environment.

Financing for the property was provided by a commercial lender at a 5.85 percent fixed interest rate for the first two years, then LIBOR plus 300 basis points for the remainder of the term. The terms of the loan are three years interest only with a loan-to-value transaction of 67 percent.

“MMCC was able to secure a loan commitment in less than a week when the initial lender’s loan fell through,” says Roberts. “We also secured a two-year fixed-rate loan with the lender’s debt funded day one, and the borrower’s equity funded over time, thus causing a significant increase in the borrower’s internal rate of return.”

Press Contact:

Kathy Molitor
Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation
(925) 953-1704