Conference in Downtown Los Angeles Attracts 500 Real Estate Professionals Eager to do Inner-City, Mixed-Use Development.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2002

"Make A Deal, Make A Difference" Is Theme of Urban Marketplace 2002

More than 500 real estate professionals from across the Southland gathered at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles today to spur investment in urban and inner city areas. The program "Urban Marketplace 2002" provided a forum to promote investment opportunities and development strategies for L.A. County's underserved neighborhoods, and specifically focused on encouraging mixed-use development by offering best practice models.

Today's program highlighted four case studies that illustrate the opportunities, challenges, and strategies associated with mixed-use development in the inner-city.

Projects highlighted included the completed Adams West project in South Central Los Angeles that created 52 units of senior housing and 13,000 square feet of retail, including a 10,000 square-foot supermarket. Also featured was the Aliso Village Project which renovated a dilapidated 60 year-old project in East Los Angeles which presented a danger to residents due to structural deficiencies. The new development provides for 132 units of public housing, 242 units of tax credit rental housing, 66 market rate homes, 27 homes built to be sold to public housing income-eligible families, and 50,000 sq. ft. of retail. The program also examined the completed Pine Square project in downtown Long Beach which includes housing and a movie theater, and the Hollywest project at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue which created 120,000 sq. ft of retail and senior housing adjacent to a MTA transit stop.

"We are continuing our motto `Make a deal, make a difference' to tap the resources of people who know how to make beneficial development happen where it's needed most," said Robert Arbour, president of Triple Net Equities, Inc. and chair of the Urban Marketplace committee.

In addition to the focus on the case studies, the program also featured a series of roundtables hosted by lenders, attorneys, brokers, planners, architects, service providers and local planning department representatives. Participants sought expert advice on specific issues experienced when developing in underserved neighborhoods. The roundtables were held in conjunction with 30 urban development-related exhibition booths.

"We want people to know that it is possible to make a profit and also do something for the community. And we also believe that these are the kinds of projects that can help alleviate L.A.'s critical housing shortage," said Michael Banner, President and CEO of Los Angeles LDC, Inc. and vice chair of the Urban Marketplace committee and ULI Inner City Advisor.

Event sponsors were Bank of America, Genesis LA Real Estate Fund, LLC, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, US Bank, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, California Bank & Trust, Century Housing Corp, Housing Authority of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, LDC, Inc., Community Development Commission of Los Angeles County, Citibank, City National Bank, the Community Redevelopment Agency, Northern Trust Bank and Stewart Title of California, Inc.

The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute established in 1936, with a mission to provide responsible leadership in the use of land in order to enhance our total environment. www.uli-la.org