Swig Burris and Zamir to buy 44 Wall St.

Kent M. Swig, principal of Swig Burris Equities, LLC and Asher Zamir, of Zamir Equities, jointly announced that they have signed a contract to purchase 44 Wall Street.

Located in the heart of Downtown Manhattan's financial district, this 25-story 340,000 square foot multi-tenant office building was built in 1927 and was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingstone.

Swig Burris Equities and Zamir Equities will each own 50% of the building and Swig Burris will serve as the property manager. The deal is expected to close by early January 2004.

Building upon Swig Burris Equities' successful renovation and leasing of 48 Wall Street and 5 Hanover Square, and Zamir Equities portfolio of Downtown properties, the ownership team plans to transform 44 Wall Street into a luxury boutique office building offering first class tenant services, amenities and security through a major capital improvement program.

Renovations to the building will include a redesigned and renovated building lobby; the installation of a new two-story storefront entrance; new elevator cabs; new core bathrooms and new multi-tenant floor upgrades for newly signed leases within the building; and the installation of state of the art security and fire/ life safety systems.

"The acquisition and renovation of 44 Wall Street is another example of the confidence that we have in Lower Manhattan as the area rebuilds and plans are formulated for the World Trade Center site. Additional plans for Lower Manhattan are underway, including a new major transportation hub connecting the metropolitan suburban areas via the New Jersey PATH trains, Long Island Rail Road, and New York City's MTA subway system. These transportation improvements will ultimately propel Downtown into a conveniently accessible area benefiting all who live and work there," said Kent M. Swig.

"We are so pleased to be involved in the revitalization of the Downtown area through the purchase of 44 Wall Street. The renovation of this building will offer prospective tenants 21st century luxury office space in the heart of the world's greatest financial district," said Asher Zamir.

Swig Burris Equities, LLC is an active purchaser and developer of prime residential and commercial buildings as well as operating companies and securities.

Over the past few years, Swig Burris Equities has purchased and is in the process of developing in excess of $450 million of properties, which includes, the purchase and renovation of historic 48 Wall Street, a 324,000 square foot office building; the purchase and renovation of 5 Hanover Square, a 320,000 square foot office building.

Additionally, Mr. Swig with his partners David A. Burris, Arthur W. Zeckendorf, and William Lie Zeckendorf, own Terra Holdings, LLC, a Manhattan based company that owns and operates a number of real estate and financial services operating companies, which include Brown Harris Stevens; Halstead Property; Halstead/Feathered Nest; and Vanderbilt Holdings. The companies that comprise Terra Holdings sold more than $3.5 billion of apartments and townhouses in Manhattan during year 2002.

Zamir Equities operates an active real estate business with ownership interests in several properties in New York and Israel.