Weingarten Realty Announces Target as Anchor for Ridgeway Trace Development

ATLANTA, Dec. 21  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) announced today Target will be the anchor store for its Ridgeway Trace development in Memphis, Tennessee.  Weingarten Realty recently sold 10.1 acres to Target to develop their store which is expected to open in March 2009.

Ridgeway Trace is located at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and I-240 and will be the first retail development of this size in east Memphis in more than 30 years.  The 26-acre project will include an additional 150,000 square feet of retail space with a mix of lifestyle tenants and national retailers. The center could include a national bookstore and a national home electronics retailer.  Ridgeway Trace will open in the spring of 2009 with the development being handled from Weingarten's Atlanta regional office.

According to Charles Carter, Vice President of New Development for Weingarten's Eastern Region, "We are extremely pleased to announce the development of Ridgeway Trace, a 290,000 square foot retail project in Memphis.  This is one of the best retail sites in the Memphis metropolitan area and we believe this center will provide a great opportunity for our retailers to operate their stores in a densely populated, high income area. With a great mix of both national and local retail tenants and restaurants, the center will create an energetic and vibrant setting for Memphis shoppers and provide an exciting new shopping environment for this great city."

  Other Weingarten owned retail properties in the Memphis area include:

  -- Mendenhall Commons -- an 80,200 square foot, Kroger-anchored shopping
     center located at South Mendenhall Road and Sanderlin Avenue.  Other
     retailers include Pei Wei Asian Diner, Village Frame & Art, Fantastic
     Sam's and Sun Trust Bank.
  -- The Commons at Dexter Lake -- a 167,000 square foot, Kroger-anchored
     center, located at the intersection of North Germantown Parkway and
     Dexter Road.  Retailers in the center include: Marshalls, Steinmart,
     Samuels Furniture, Dress Barn, Wingstop and Honey Baked Hams.
  -- Bartlett Towne Center -- a 179,000 square foot, Kroger-anchored
     shopping center, located at Bartlett Blvd. and Stage Road in Bartlett,
     Tennessee.  Key retailers include Shoe Carnival, Petco, CATO Fashions,
     Mattress Firm, Sally Beauty TCBY and Little Caesars.
  -- Summer Center -- a 154,000 square foot, Kroger-anchored shopping
     center, located at Summer Avenue and Waring Road.  Other retailers
     include: Ross Dress For Less, Blockbuster Video, Shoe Show and Dots.
  -- Highland Square -- a Walgreens, located at Summer Avenue and North
     Highland Street




As one of the largest real estate investment trusts listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) is focused on delivering solid returns to shareholders by actively developing, acquiring, and intensively managing properties in 23 states that span the United States from coast-to-coast. The Company's portfolio of 420 properties includes 342 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 78 industrial properties. Including tenant-owned square footage, the Company's portfolio under management totals more than 70 million square feet. Weingarten has one of the most diversified tenant bases of any major REIT in its sector, with the largest of its 5,600 tenants comprising less than 3% of its rental revenues. To learn more about the Company's operations and growth strategies, please visit http://www.weingarten.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Weingarten Realty Investors



CONTACT:  Amy Jones, Director of Marketing, [phone], or Richard

Summers, VP-Director of Investor Relations, [phone], both of

Weingarten Realty Investors



Web site:  http://www.weingarten.com/ 

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