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Archived News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2006

FAISON MID-ATLANTIC/NORTHEAST REGION REPORTS PROGRESS
ON AREA PROJECTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Locations of four Faison projects currently under construction

Charlotte, NC —June 22, 2006 — The Bethesda, Maryland retail development office of Faison has experienced a particularly busy first half of calendar year 2006 with four projects presently under construction, three of which are located in Southern Maryland and one in Northwestern Maryland.  The Southern Maryland projects are positioned in three of the four counties which comprise this dynamic growth district of suburban Washington, DC: Calvert, Prince George's, and Charles; the fourth county, St. Mary's, is the site of South Plaza (in Lexington Park), where Faison completed and sold a Best Buy, Old Navy, Petco, and Ross-anchored center in the fourth quarter of 2005.

In Calvert County, specifically the town center of Dunkirk, Faison is preparing to open Dunkirk Gateway, a 230,000 square foot community center anchored by Giant Food and Wal-Mart.  Giant will grand open on August 11th accompanied by a well-merchandised selection of specialty stores and outparcels.  Wal-Mart will trail behind the initial "wave" of retailers, opening its facility next spring.  Selected merchants include Chevy Chase Bank and Bank of America, Starbucks, Ledo's Pizza, Yankee Candle, Hair Cuttery, The UPS Store, Cingular Wireless, Sherwin Williams, Pet Valu, and Red Wing Shoes.  Faison constructed a private state-of-the-art water and drip irrigation (wastewater) system to serve Dunkirk Gateway and the surrounding 50-acre Dunkirk Town Center commercial district situated at MD Route 4 and Ward Road, in the heart of Calvert County's upscale growth area.  Medical office and associated professional commercial uses will complement Faison's retail center in Dunkirk.

Farther north, in Prince George's County, Faison is moving along well in the construction of Fairwood Green, a 120,000 square foot community center which forms the "heart" of Rouse's (now General Growth Properties') 1,100 acre, 1,800 home Fairwood mixed-density master-planned community, fashioned in the image of Columbia, Maryland, and featuring the finest first-class development program within this rapidly-emerging eastern neighbor to the District of Columbia.  Fairwood Green will be anchored by Safeway and Gold's Gym, and will feature a branch of PNC Bank (having recently acquired Riggs Bank in Washington), together with a quality array of specialty stores, restaurants, and approximately 10,000 square feet of second floor professional office space.  Safeway is constructing a top-notch 55,000 square foot facility which will be a showcase for that important retailer as its Eastern US headquarters office is located just two miles west of this development.  Fairwood Green is slated to open fourth quarter this year and will conveniently serve the grocery and community retail demand of a burgeoning high-end series of neighborhoods.

In Charles County, Faison has recently initiated the clearing, grubbing, and grading of Phase 2 of Waldorf Marketplace, located adjacent to and immediately south of our mid-2005 completed Phase 1 regional community center which profiles Safeway, AC Moore, Petco, and Office Depot, additionally anchored by the Capital Clubhouse, a 90,000 square foot indoor skating rink, soccer field, climbing wall, and sports recreational facility owned by Charles County.  The Phase 2 program will feature TJ Maxx, Home Goods, DSW, TGIFriday, Dress Barn, and a host of other specialty stores and restaurants.  Phase 3 of Waldorf Marketplace will continue across Plaza Drive, approaching Target and St. Charles Town Center, Southern Maryland's only regional mall, and will offer Walgreens and two complementary outparcels.   Response to initial leasing efforts has been exceptional, and the project will open in late Spring 2007 (Phase 2), followed by the completion of the entire building program approximately four months later.  Sales experiences of Phase 1 retailers have been very strong ... Waldorf Marketplace promises to be a dominant retail center in the commercial heart of rapidly-expanding Charles County.

Last, but certainly not least, is Faison's retail development activity in northwest exurban Washington, DC.  Just as Southern Maryland and the four counties cited above have formed the focus for our recent land and property development action over the past four years, so too now are we concentrating on the very strong growth dynamics of Maryland counties located north and west of Montgomery County, as well as Washington's expansion frontier which has moved west into portions of West Virginia's "panhandle," and north into the south central tier of Pennsylvania.  Our first development enterprise within this geography is Stone House Square, a 250,000 square foot community center now under construction in Hagerstown, Washington County.  We will feature Lowe's Home Improvement as one of two anchors of this shopping center, the second being a major grocery with which we are presently finalizing our lease.  Stone House (named after a historically interesting farm house on-site which will be adaptively reused as a retail outbuilding) is located in the best residential section of Hagerstown, in the path of the dominant quality and quantity housing growth occurring in this desirable trade area.  Responsiveness by national, regional, and local retailers to open stores in this project is noteworthy, and select recognizable fashion stores will soon be announced to assume locations in one of two planned pod buildings sited along MD Route 60 in front of our anchors.  Grand opening of Stone House Square is slated for Summer 2007.

As noted at the outset, the Faison Bethesda office has had a very busy past 12 months, with an even busier next 12 months (and beyond) expected.  The Faison Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region pipeline of future projects numbers a "legitimate" additional dozen, as we are pleased to take advantage of the very strong growth record of metropolitan Washington and its surrounding mid-Atlantic region.  Further updates on the progress of our development inventory will follow.

Faison Enterprises, Inc. is a privately-held development company with a diversified product portfolio that includes retail, commercial and residential project development, management and acquisitions services. With more than 40 years in the business and holdings of approximately $1 billion, including $500 million of new projects under development, the Charlotte NC based company manages and develops properties throughout the South and Mid-Atlantic and maintains regional offices in Bethesda MD, Washington D.C., Charlotte NC, Charleston SC, Atlanta GA, Orlando and Delray Beach, FL. For more information, visit www.faison.com.

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