Federal Realty Investment Trust Completes the Sale of Four Properties for $15.7 Million

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2004--Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) today announced the sale of four Street Retail properties in West Hartford, Conn. - 967 and 970 Farmington Avenue, 27-43 LaSalle Road, and 1253 New Britain Avenue - for $15.7 million.

The four West Hartford properties, totaling 62,000 square feet, were purchased in April 1995 as part of a seven-property Connecticut portfolio. The remaining three properties from this portfolio purchase are not being sold by the Trust as part of this transaction.

The $15.7 million sales price for the four properties generated a book gain of approximately $7.9 million, which will be included in Federal Realty's fourth quarter 2003 financial statements. The sales price reflects a 7.6% capitalization rate based on Federal Realty's forward 12-month property operating income and an 18.2% unleveraged internal rate of return over Federal Realty's holding period. Federal Realty projected 0.7% average annual property operating income growth for the properties through 2008, compared to an average 3.9% same-center property operating income growth rate reported for the Trust's portfolio over the four quarters ending third quarter 2003.

"The Trust continues to aggressively recycle capital. In 2003 the Trust disposed of slow-growth assets totaling $46 million and acquired $125.5 million in high-growth assets," said Jeff Berkes, Senior Vice President - Chief Investment Officer for Federal Realty. "The sale of these assets allows us to maximize the internal growth rate of our core portfolio and generate substantial proceeds for future acquisition and redevelopment opportunities."

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of shopping centers and Street Retail properties. Federal Realty's portfolio contains approximately 16.2 million square feet located primarily in strategic metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Western United States. The operating portfolio was 94% occupied by over 2,000 national, regional, and local retailers as of September 30, 2003, with no single tenant accounting for more than 2.5% of rental revenue. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 36 consecutive years, the longest consecutive record in the REIT industry.

Shares of Federal Realty are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT. Additional information about Federal Realty can be found on the Internet at www.federalrealty.com.

CONTACT:
Federal Realty Investment Trust, Rockville
Investor Inquiries
Andrew Blocher, 301-998-8166
ablocher@federalrealty.com
or
Media Inquiries
Kristine Warner, 301-998-8212
kwarner@federalrealty.com
SOURCE: Federal Realty Investment Trust