Whitestone REIT Achieves 100% Occupancy, up from 85%, upon Completion of Redevelopment and Repositioning at Sugar Park Plaza in Houston, TX, Projected to Generate a 30% ROI

HOUSTON, Aug. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT WSR ("Whitestone" or the "Company") highlights the continued value-added execution of its community-centered, E-commerce resistant strategy by completing the repositioning of Sugar Park Plaza in Houston, TX.

About Sugar Park Plaza Redevelopment and Repositioning

Whitestone started redevelopment construction in 3Q16 on its Sugar Park Plaza Community-Centered Property^TM. Construction was completed in 1Q17 with 100% occupancy achieved in 2Q17. By upgrading Sugar Park Plaza, the company capitalizes on a consumer void in the surrounding community. The redevelopment expands the property's E-commerce resistant tenant base and increases revenues from both new and existing entrepreneurial tenants. Whitestone forecasts additional annual revenues of approximately $200,000 as a direct result of its $650,000 ($6.84 PSF) redevelopment investment, resulting in a very attractive projected return on investment of approximately 30%.

Investment highlights include:

• Increase in Occupancy from 85% to 100%
• ~$200,000 increase in projected annual net operating income
• 5% increase in Annual Base Rent

Renovation highlights include:

• ~9,000 SF expansion of Aga's Restaurant
• Upgrade and modernization of the façade
• Addition of LED accent lighting to create greater visibility

About Sugar Park Plaza

Sugar Park Plaza, a 95,032 SF property sits at the entrance of Sugar Land, TX and serves the densely populated and affluent Fort Bend County area with a population of nearly 500,000 within a five-mile radius. Fully leased and with a daily traffic count of 235,000, Sugar Park Plaza is conveniently located at the exit ramp of US Highway 59 at Wilcrest Drive.

CEO Comments

Regarding the renovation project, James C. Mastandrea, Whitestone's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, "With a modest capital investment in Sugar Park Plaza, we were able to significantly increase visibility and enhance marketability to produce an exceptional return on investment for our investors." Mr. Mastandrea added, "We continue to look for opportunities like this where we can execute on our business plan of creating communities within our properties that drive value for our shareholders." Mr. Mastandrea concluded, "We believe our focus on our clients -the entrepreneurial, smaller, service-driven tenants who we can grow with- and through the renovation of this property, will help foster their ability to meet the needs of their neighborhood, and in turn, reward our shareholder base over the long term." 

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone is a community-centered retail REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops and redevelops high quality "E-commerce resistant" neighborhood, community and lifestyle retail centers principally located in the largest, fastest-growing and most affluent markets in the Sunbelt. Whitestone's optimal mix of national, regional and local tenants provides daily necessities, needed services and entertainment to the respective communities which are not readily available online. Visit www.whitestonereit.com for additional information.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute 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. Such information is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Therefore, such statements are not intended to be a guarantee of the Company's performance in future periods. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the Company's use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "plan," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "continue" or similar words or phrases that are predictions of future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters, and include, without limitation, the Company's beliefs and intentions regarding the impact and results of the disposition and transition to a pure-play retail REIT and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and the Company does not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact Whitestone REIT:
Kevin Reed
Director of Investor Relations
(713) 435-2219
kreed@whitestonereit.com