Federal Realty and HOC Partner to Collect School Supplies; -Kick Off Event to be Held on Friday, August 9, 2002-

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug 1, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) and the Housing Opportunity Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) have partnered to collect school supplies to assist families that reside in HOC communities within Montgomery County.

Federal Realty and many of the merchants at nine of its Montgomery County shopping centers will serve as collection sites during the month of August. The shopping centers include, Congressional Plaza, Federal Plaza, Courthouse Center, Magruder's Center and Mid-Pike Plaza in Rockville; Gaithersburg Square and Quince Orchard in Gaithersburg; and Wildwood Shopping Center and Bethesda Row in Bethesda. The school supplies will be presented in book bags to HOC students later this summer.

A kick-off event will be held Friday August 9, 2002 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike. The day will begin with formal remarks from Montgomery County Councilmember Blair Ewing, Don Wood, president and chief operating officer of Federal Realty and Annie Alston, chief of staff at HOC. In addition, local non-profit and County agencies will be in attendance to share information about programs and services available to the general public. Organizations participating include: Friends of the Library, Head Start, HOC, Linkages to Learning, Literacy Council of Montgomery County, Montgomery County Association for Family and Community Education, and Treatment and Learning Centers.

"This partnership signifies outstanding corporate citizenship," says HOC Executive Director Scott Minton. "This is a shining example of cooperation between the business community and local government. It also provides an opportunity to demonstrate support for the 10,000 children who reside in HOC's low-income housing."

"Federal Realty has owned shopping centers in Montgomery County for nearly 40 years," stated Don Wood, president and chief operating officer of Federal Realty. "We are excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the communities in which we do business."

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development and re-development of shopping center and street retail properties. Federal Realty's portfolio contains approximately 15 million square feet located in major metropolitan markets across the United States. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 34 consecutive years, the longest consecutive record in the REIT industry.

HOC provides affordable housing opportunities for Montgomery County residents with limited incomes. The Agency builds, finance, owns and manages housing and provides a variety of resident support services. Moody's Investor Service recently assigned HOC its highest possible rating: MQ1, making HOC the first housing authority in the nation to be rated on the strength of its management team and overall housing operations.

Safe Harbor Language

Certain matters discussed within this press release may be deemed to be forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although Federal Realty Investment Trust believes the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Federal Realty's expectations are detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports and filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, filed with the SEC on March 22, 2002. Federal Realty assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

CONTACT: Federal Realty Investment Trust
Kristine Warner, 301/998-8212
kwarner@federalrealty.com

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