the number of saves in MLB year-to-year stays about the same — usually about 25-26% of all games result in a save as there have been 269 saves through Saturday out of 1,028 total games (26%) is how well fantasy managers have been able to mine the saves that do occur Frequent turnover by closers works against rostering saves as does shared closing duties between two or more pitchers the Main Event 80% mark — usually cited as the bar needed to compete in the overall championship — is generally around 70 saves (see chart below) While it seems that the first month of 2025 has been difficult for the saves landscape the 80% mark in the Main Event is actually at 17 saves — which works out to a full year total of 83 — significantly above the usual total it certainly argues against the idea that saves are more difficult to accumulate in 2025 — at least thus far This is a chart of most of the top relievers drafted in the Main Event in March 2025 (without showing the secondary relievers drafted as backups) along with their ADP I’ve also created a super-secret formula based on just saves and WHIP through Sunday to show you definitively how these draft selections have performed in the early going there are other statistics that you can use (strikeouts wins) to measure contributions to your fantasy team but I prefer to show you the key statistics (this means I was too lazy to make it more complicated) I think it shows that it’s a tricky business drafting closers — there were land mines littered all over the draft board These 29 relievers account for 187 saves through Sunday and have pitched to an average WHIP of 1.19 (the MLB average WHIP stands at 1.29 this season) He was the only player in the 10 most added to attract a high average winning bid — at $166 the $7,655 spent on Gonsolin represents about 0.9% of all FAAB available at the beginning of the season to all 855 Main Event managers So who attracted the highest single bids of Week 7 FAAB? It turns out that someone was Tyler O’Neill of the Orioles at a — wow — hefty $522 figure (runner up $144) O’Neill was available in five leagues and prices ranged from this top bid to two in the $100-199 range and two bargains under $100 (the lowest successful bid was $73) The average winning bid for O’Neill was a substantial $194 — largely because of this one big bid In addition to the players in the charts above, there were three other notable players added in one league each: Jackson Holliday ($323), Kyle Stowers ($300) and Luis Mey ($189) a 23-year-old Cincinnati Reds pitcher just recently recalled the average Main Event winning bid was just $29 in week seven which was below the average winning bid of $33 in this week last season the average Main Event manager spent a healthy $62 — a mark which will inevitably fall as we move into the summer I’ll review the most common Main Event pickups from three weeks ago and evaluate whether it was a good addition based on the early stats (thumbs up); a bad idea (thumbs down); or simply a push these pickups were rated as 30 thumbs up (38%) if you’re a strong person you can glance at his stat line below Lucas is back in Buffalo and the Main Event managers who rostered him are still in recovery mode and five down and makes the cumulative score 10 up; three pushes; and 11 down after four weeks (42% thumbs up) Hopefully better weeks are in store moving forward it seems The Kid Ben Tidd didn’t like dropping down the leaderboard (he was fourth last week) and took matters rather seriously this week He’s back to his customary top spot and claims he will stay there this time But there are other contenders who don’t appreciate Ben’s leadership style In second place is the well-known hashtag of @thefanaddict (a tag team of Brian Ambos and Adam Ronis) But in addition Ross (the iceberg) Berg who has moved from eighth into third and Kyle Brinkmann — geez The top 34 Main Event entrants will earn a prize from the overall pool this year in addition to any league prizes awarded and other notables include the dangerous Jason Santeiu in fifth Mike Cameron in sixth and the man with no shirt or shoes Also worth mentioning is Opera Aficionado Robert Mirshak making the top 34 is a significant accomplishment — and we’ll follow the chase for the Main Event overall crown all season to see who can come out on top The first chart below shows the first annual CLQ Championship League Standings — these are the 15 fantasy managers who qualified last season by finishing with the best combined score in an across-the-board competition and therefore were invited to compete in an auction league in March the CLQ requires fantasy managers to enter one specified team in the Online Championship These top 15 in the 2024 CLQ qualified for this first-ever auction league with significant prize money at stake built from entry fees from all CLQ entrants (201 fantasy managers entered this competition in 2024) It’s the best of the best in a no-holds-barred 15-team league so we’ll track it to see who can become the initial Champions League Champ (the Champs Champ?) — and this week Chris Uram has extended his lead — he now has 113.5 points — over the two second place fantasy managers — Brody John (aka Shawn Johnson) and Tim Sansome at 95.5 points Fan favorite Toby Guevin is right in the thick of things in fourth place at 95.0 with Matt Leahy and Neil Petersen definitely in contention at 93.5 and 92.5 respectively I’m showing here the race for the NFBC CLQ — the Champions League Qualifier for next March The top 14 in the CLQ qualify for the 2026 Champions auction league (the champion of the 2025 Champions Auction league automatically is invited back to defend their title) You can see the current 14 leading contenders to make the auction table in 2026 out of the 155 intrepid souls who entered this year Matt Poole is leading the pack despite doing a great deal of swimming while Kyle Pantalone sits on the pool deck with his shirt off who plays for the Minnesota Vikings in his spare time who owns significant stock in the Wrigley Corporation Michael Armstrong is in strong position in fifth and Spencer Farmery is tending effectively to his crops in sixth But all 14 of these fantasy managers have done an excellent job and have a leg up to be at the final table next March Good luck to all the fantasy managers in May — there’s still a long way to go Get 10% Off: Promo Code RATPACK Regal Hospitality will manage the properties Whitestone Capital recently reopened the dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites Colorado Springs North in Colorado Vishnu Rageev R is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience in business journalism As a senior journalist with Asian Hospitality Hilton Garden Inn Colorado Springs North and Homewood Suites Colorado Springs North are now open in Colorado Springs recently completed year-long renovations of the dual-branded property with Ohio-based Striv Design Regal Hospitality, a subsidiary of Whitestone Cos., will manage operations, according to a company statement “We are thrilled to reintroduce these hotels to the community and our loyal guests,” said Batra along with Striv Design and Regal Hospitality have created spaces that elevate the travel experience We invite both business and leisure travelers to experience it for themselves.” The Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites are adjacent to each other and near the U.S The properties offer indoor and outdoor pools and three fitness areas for business travelers Batra said the properties were valuable assets that needed investment to position them as key properties in the area we were at a loss for words at the mountain views from the guestrooms,” said Chuck Groger “We knew then all the properties needed was a renovation and a management team who cared we are thrilled to celebrate it with the entire Colorado Springs community.” Whitestone recently acquired the 144-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Minneapolis-Mall of America its first investment in Minnesota and fourth Homewood Suites purchase in 18 months PEACHTREE GROUP RECENTLY launched the 114-key Residence Inn Ocean Township along the Jersey Shore in New Jersey This marks the company’s eighth DST offering since launching the program in 2022 The Residence Inn is in Monmouth County, one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S., known for its high median income and vibrant year-round economy, Peachtree said in a statement “This newly developed property represents everything we look for in a DST offering: strong market fundamentals and long-term upside driven by secular tailwinds in travel,” said Tim Witt Peachtree’s president for 1031 exchange and DST products Atlanta-based Peachtree is led by Greg Friedman managing principal and CFO; and Mitul Patel The hotel benefits from its proximity to beach destinations such as Asbury Park The region’s diverse economy—anchored by healthcare and technology—drives consistent lodging demand throughout the year Netflix is investing $900 million to redevelop nearby Fort Monmouth into its primary East Coast production hub a project expected to create 3,500 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs “With the opening of Residence Inn Ocean Township in 2024 we’re providing investors access to a debt-free income-generating asset in a premier coastal market,” Witt said “It’s a strategic fit for those seeking tax deferral through a 1031 exchange while maintaining exposure to one of the most resilient sectors in commercial real estate.” Peachtree’s DST properties offer a compelling option for 1031 exchange investors seeking to reinvest proceeds from the sale of appreciated real estate while deferring taxes and maintaining exposure to the hotel sector The firm’s eight DST offerings total more than $220 million in debt-free real estate transactions In February Peachtree appointed Jordan Hylton as senior vice president of multifamily acquisitions for its DST platform which recently expanded its portfolio to include multifamily assets Hyatt Studios Mobile/Tillmans Corner is now open in Mobile was developed and franchised by 3H Group and is managed by LBA Hospitality Chattanooga, Tennessee-based 3H Group is led by President and CEO Hiren Desai, while Dothan, Alabama-based LBA Hospitality is headed by President Beau Benton “As the first developer to break ground on a Hyatt Studios hotel and now the first to open one, we’ve seen firsthand how this brand fills a critical gap in the extended-stay space,” said Desai efficient design and a flexible operating model that resonates with both guests and owners Its focus on quality extended-stay experiences paired with Hyatt’s strong support and reputation and we’re excited to continue growing with additional Hyatt Studios projects in the future.” located in Tillmans Corner less than 10 miles from Mobile International Airport provides access to downtown Mobile and the Gulf Coast It also is near the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park Bellingrath Gardens and the Mobile Carnival Museum The new hotel offers 122 studio suites with a fitness studio and an outdoor patio The Hyatt Studios brand also provides EV charging stations at all locations said the new hotel’s opening marks a milestone in expanding extended-stay accommodations “This is just the beginning for the Hyatt Studios brand which has generated enthusiasm among hotel owners and developers,” he said “We’re proud to celebrate the grand opening with 3H Group and LBA Hospitality whose dedication has brought the Hyatt Studios vision to life.” Hyatt plans to have 40 Hyatt Studios operational by 2027, the statement said. In February a select-service brand for transient guests and conversions expanding its upper-midscale segment in the Americas ahead of global rollout 3H Group is advancing Hyatt Studios projects in Huntsville The company is developing a Caption by Hyatt hotel in Chattanooga set to open in 2026 It recently acquired Hyatt Place Tampa Airport/Westshore and is building dual-brand Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels in East Nashville In November 3H Group and LBA Hospitality opened their first dual-branded IHG hotels in Chattanooga—Candlewood Suites Chattanooga East and Holiday Inn Express Chattanooga East—adding 154 rooms to the market TownePlace Suites Forney is now open in Forney The pet-friendly hotel, located 22 miles east of Dallas, features a 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor pool, the companies said in a joint statement It is near the Spellman Museum of Forney History and Mesquite Metro Airport HQZ “As we continue to expand our third-party management platform we remain focused on partnering with top-tier companies that share our commitment to operational excellence,” said Vickie Callahan Peachtree’s president of hospitality management developing hotels that are both professionally executed and uniquely designed to stand apart in their competitive set connecting each property to its local community.” Peachtree partnered with TEKMAK to manage a selection of its Texas hotels and now oversees six properties: Fairfield Inn & Suites Paris expressed excitement about joining the Forney community and serving the nation’s fastest-growing county with the new TownePlace Suites “We’re grateful for the Peachtree team’s hard work in getting the hotel open and are thrilled about the strong leadership they’ve assembled to manage daily operations,” he said “We take great pride in the quality of the hotels we develop and have full confidence in Peachtree’s ability to deliver an equally high level of service to our guests.” Atlanta-based Peachtree is led by CEO and Managing Principal Greg Friedman, Managing Principal and Chief Financial Officer Jatin Desai, and Principal Mitul Patel, while Dallas-based TEKMAK is led by Chief Executive Officer and President Thomas Kirkland “Third-party hotel operators are increasingly recognized for delivering superior service often outperforming chain-managed hotels in key areas that matter most to guests,” Callahan said “The opening of TownePlace Suites Forney reflects the strength of our collaboration and our shared vision to exceed expectations and raise standards across every hotel we manage.” JALARAM SLEEPY HOLLOW acquired the 91-key Fairfield Inn & Suites Memphis Southaven in Southaven Hunter Hotel Advisors’ Senior Vice President Tim Osborne and Vice President Chase Perry brokered the deal The hotel, renovated in 2023, is near several demand drivers in Southaven, 15 miles south of downtown Memphis, Hunter said in a statement They include major employers such as Amazon XAI recently opened a nearby supercomputer site with expansion plans “Southaven is our home and a strategic market for our company’s growth,” said Rohan Patel of Jalaram Hotel Group “It was a pleasure to work with Hunter and Helix on the acquisition.” HBS Investment Group recently acquired the 122-key Hilton Garden Inn Louisville East in Louisville SHRIV SHAKTI HOSPITALITY recently acquired the three-storey 111-key Comfort Inn East Evansville in Evansville from Priyansu Hotels for under $50,000 per room and a member of Hotel Brokers International The new owner will maintain the Choice Hotels affiliation and plans improvements for the property Niehaus & Associates said in a statement is the economic hub of a 24-county region and a trade center for parts of Indiana Vrindavan LLC recently acquired the 48-room SureStay by Best Western Bardstown General Nelson in Bardstown, Kentucky, from Dhamdhani LLC, in a deal brokered by Huff, Niehaus & Associates By: 6:30 am on April 30 Permits have been filed for a three-story mixed-use building at 15-65 Clintonville Street in Whitestone Located between Locke Avenue and the Cross Island Parkway the lot is closest to the Flushing-Main Street subway station Josephine Valenza-Aragonesi of SV Building Services Inc is listed as the owner behind the applications The proposed 34-foot-tall development will yield 4,498 square feet with 4,155 square feet designated for residential space and 343 square feet for community facility space most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 692 square feet The steel-based structure will also have a cellar and six open parking spaces Longo is listed as the architect of record Demolition permits will likely not be needed as the lot is vacant An estimated completion date has not been announced Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates Like YIMBY on Facebook Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews ga('send', 'event', 'beautyofblock', 'Impression', 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Click here to access exclusive research Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript May 1 greetings and welcome to the Whitestone REIT First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call all participants are in a listen-only mode A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation It is now my pleasure to introduce your host David Mordy: Good morning and thank you for joining Whitestone REIT’s first quarter 2025 earnings conference call Joining me on today’s call are Dave Holeman Chief Executive Officer; Christine Mastandrea President and Chief Operating Officer; and Scott Hogan Please note that some statements made during this call are not historical and may be deemed forward-looking statements Actual results may differ materially from those forward-looking statements due to a number of risks Please refer to the company’s earnings news release and filings with the SEC including Whitestone’s most recent Form 10-Q and 10-K for a detailed discussion of these factors Acknowledging the fact that this call may be webcast for a period of time it is also important to note that this call includes time-sensitive information that may be accurate only as of today’s date The company undertakes no obligation to update this information Whitestone’s earnings news release and supplemental operating and financial data package have been filed with the SEC and are available on our website in the Investor Relations section We published first quarter slides on our website yesterday afternoon which highlight topics to be discussed today I will now turn the call over to Dave Holeman For a lot of investors looking at a lot of companies they may not view the first quarter as overly indicative of the future as it was entirely pre-tariff announcement We believe there are a number of reasons to look at Whitestone’s first quarter results and view it exactly as the type of quarter you should expect we are reiterating our core FFO guidance and I’d like to walk you through the reasons why we believe this quarter very much represents what investors will see in terms of continued performance from Whitestone our redevelopment efforts are translating into same-store net operating income growth exactly as we expected and exactly in the way we’re anticipating our ongoing redevelopment will translate into financial results $20 million to $30 million over the next few years but we anticipate our investments will deliver strong results as we’ve discussed on the last earnings call Whitestone is designed to benefit as change occurs This design means we’re capable of performing better in various economic cycles we’ll highlight how our business model and the actions we’ve taken over the past 3 years provide both accelerated growth and greater durability of cash flows if economic conditions worsen our properties are at the heart of the reshoring dynamic that is occurring right now We strongly believe reshoring isn’t really a matter of whether tariffs succeed or not trillions of dollars of Chinese manufacturing no longer has a young labor force needed to operate effectively and globalization is breaking down That translates into TSMC’s new operations in Phoenix and Apple’s announcement of a 250,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Houston Those investments transform the communities around them and we benefit as long as we ensure that our centers remain anchored to the community and adapt in tandem We are confident there is more reshoring on the horizon and our strategy and operational model is set up to benefit from that we spent roughly $8 million in capital above the 2023 level and this translated into an approximate 1% lift in same-store NOI growth that we delivered this quarter Of the 6 redevelopment centers shown on Slides 20 and 21 Williams Trace was the vanguard in terms of our efforts and Windsor Park is well underway We’ve issued press releases on redevelopment efforts at Lion Square those centers are anticipated to create up to 100 basis points of same-store NOI growth lift in 2026 So here’s what we delivered for the quarter Core FFO per share of $0.25 for the quarter Same-store net operating income growth of 4.8% our 12th consecutive quarter with leasing spreads in excess of 17% And we raised our annual net effective ABR per square foot 4% over Q1 ’24 All of this fits perfectly within our longer-term expectation of 4% to 6% organic core FFO per share growth driven by 3% to 5% same-store NOI growth that same-store NOI growth breaks down to 2% from contractual escalators 1% to 2% from new and renewal leasing and up to 1% from redevelopment I’m going to have Christine talk about what we’ve done organically that provides greater durability of cash flows but I wanted to touch briefly on our acquisition and disposition activity we were one of the top-performing retail REITs as measured by year-over-year same-store NOI performance or as measured by bad debt levels we have sold 11 properties and acquired Lake Woodlands 2 non-owned multi-tenant pads at Dana Park and a non-owned pad site at our Anderson Arbor property in Austin One obvious benefit from our capital recycling has been to raise the average household income level and ABR for our properties But what is more important is that we have a greater degree of confidence about the growth of the communities surrounding our centers and our ability to continue matching tenants to that growing demand That science of connecting tenants to demand is the key to performing in any economic environment and we’re always eager to walk investors through exactly how we do that While the overall macroeconomic environment has uncertainty to it right now especially for service-based businesses are much more favorable Green Street’s population forecast for our footprint is 50 to 70 basis points higher versus the national average and the job growth CAGR is forecasted to run 40 basis points above the rest of the nation leads the country in terms of industrial construction underway All of these trends are in line with what we’ve seen over the past decade and it allows demand to recover much more quickly from any shocks to the system We pay close attention to the current environment in terms of the decisions we make but we are making decisions with a multiyear horizon in mind and we are very bullish on the future of service-based businesses in the Sunbelt We’re looking forward to seeing many of you at REITweek in June Please reach out to our Investor Relations if you will be at the conference and would like to spend some time with management And I’ll now turn the call over to Christine We delivered a very strong quarter with $31 million of total lease value signed It is the highest first quarter amount we’ve ever signed with 40% over the average of the last decade Leasing spreads were 22.6% for new leases and 19.9% for renewals giving us a combined leasing spreads of 20.3% for the quarter combined with our previous strong quarters translated into a 4.8% same-store NOI growth which is the key to our delivering our targeted earnings growth As we discussed on the fourth quarter call our shop space at 77% of ABR versus the peer average of 50% provides greater flexibility to adapt to surrounding demand more flexibility in terms of the mix of businesses that we can accommodate and is more attractive to a sophisticated multichannel services business Complementing the physical design advantage of high-value shop space is our ability to utilize local knowledge and relevant data from Esri and Placer.ai to constantly pay attention to the demand drivers that translate into the success for the businesses populating our centers Matching the tenants to the community not only provides Whitestone the opportunity to deliver peer-leading growth it provides better downside protection in 3 distinct ways relying strictly on anchor tenants in order to drive success for shop space tenants exposes shop space tenants unnecessarily to the anchor we ensure that all tenants are connected to the primary demand needs driven by the community and accordingly limit the risk presented by roping our climbers together businesses that are out of sync with the community are the first businesses to become more problematic during difficult times Our proactive approach to minimize the risk of stale businesses gives financial guarantees and long leases that don’t protect the traffic and the vibrancy of the center which is why our underwriting process goes well beyond the financial guarantees and assesses the ability of the businesses to thrive in their new location our team constantly assesses the health of each tenant and does not wait for the end of the lease term to take action if we can upgrade to a tenant that better serves the community This proactive approach better protects cash flows in challenging times We had a previous tenant that wasn’t adapting to the changing demographic in the area The surrounding area was dominated by second homes but has been rapidly changing as high-paying jobs for Taiwanese semiconductor facility and other reshoring operations are causing young upwardly mobile families to transform the community into one dominated by primary residents We identified this mismatch between the prior tenant and the community early and moved to bring in a tenant that would capture the community shift We knew they’d be a high-traffic driver capturing the active-minded families and health-conscious individuals into the Terravita community The third and final dynamic I’ll mention in terms of downside protection is the diversity of service-based tenants we achieved in combination with our high percentage of shop space regional and national tenants removes leverage dynamics that can work against REITs in difficult times many property owners relying on national tenants for achieving the security were pressured by these tenants leveraging the size in order to obtain numerous concessions from REITs Our largest tenant is 2.2% of Whitestone’s annual base rental revenues and this definitely helped translate into our outperformance during the pandemic So those are reasons shop space produces greater durability of cash flows sign higher escalators and are far more flexible This flexibility allows Whitestone to better control the real estate and far better ability to capture the upside opportunities as we constantly evaluate bringing in the strongest tenants possible Shop space is also perfectly suited to service tenants that have lower capital requirements allowing us to use the cash flow for growth either in the forms of redevelopment or acquisitions both of which are important components of our 5% to 7% core FFO growth target Dave spoke on some of these financial benefits anticipated with our overall redevelopment efforts but I’d like to dive into one specifically to give a little color on what our investments look like Lion Square should represent a little over the 6th of the overall $20 million to $30 million forecasted redevelopment spend Lion Square sits within the Houston Asiatown which attracts over 9 million visitors annually bringing in Sun Wing Supermarket and are closely monitoring Park Eight Place a $1 billion investment down the road that is transforming Halliburton’s former campus into a 70-acre mixed-use project centered on a healthier lifestyles Lion Square benefits from the high barriers to entry of the area being adjacent to this development We expect 30% to 50% boost in the center’s NOI as a result of this redevelopment project Our capital is extremely well targeted and timed to deliver strong results We are also seeing an acceleration in construction time frames as the government university project cancellations free up resources It is important to note that taking advantage of newly available construction resources isn’t something that happens without forethought vendors need to be ready to go and we are primed to take advantage of the current environment when the pricing changes I’ll wrap up by pointing out the percentage of shop space versus the peer set we show on Slide 12 It’s important for investors to recognize that our higher percentage of shop space only delivers results because it’s paired with our ability to connect with the surrounding community and because we built a company with the operational chops to manage it The team there is guiding — keeping the pedal down and advancing our continued growth I’d like to thank them for keeping us at the front of the pack I’ll turn things over to Scott to cover the financials we reiterated our $1.03 to $1.07 core FFO per share guidance and our longer-term 3% to 5% same-store NOI growth target lowering our occupancy from the prior quarter and we produced strong same-store NOI growth of 4.8% Intentionally taking back space in order to bring in higher-performing tenants and drive growth is a fundamental part of our quality of revenue focus we made room for the Picklr and Ace Hardware coming in at Terravita we are reiterating our 3% to 4.5% same-store net operating income projection for 2025 The longer-term 3% to 5% is higher in anticipation of the full impact of redevelopment projects We continue to see opportunities to acquire centers that fit our stringent criteria and that have the potential to contribute to earnings in both the short and long-term as our leasing team utilizes data from Placer.ai and Esri to anchor tenants to surrounding demand to a much greater degree than previous owners I’ll estimate that we have about $50 million in acquisitions in the current pipeline financed primarily through cash flow and dispositions Our debt-to-EBITDAre was 7.2x versus 7.8x a year ago And we remain on track to continue to strengthen our balance sheet in 2025 we have $16 million in cash and $98 million available under the credit facility Our dividend remains very well supported with nearly — with a nearly 50% payout ratio and we anticipate strong dividend growth as we grow the dividend in conjunction with earnings growth I’ll keep my comments brief and open the line for questions Operator: [Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of Gaurav Mehta from Alliance Global Partners Gaurav Mehta: I wanted to follow up on your comments around occupancy taking some space back Can you provide some more color on why the occupancy went lower The biggest piece of the decline in occupancy is from a retenanting effort at Terravita There’s low-paying tenant in there at the end of the year That’s about a 37,000 square foot space that was formerly a grocery store And so while we prepare that space for the new tenants to take occupancy there’s a slight — there’s a roughly 0.7% decline in occupancy from the end of the year Second question on your comments around $50 million in acquisitions in current pipeline So is that amount that you guys are looking at Or is that something that you already have under contract I think we’re currently obviously looking for opportunities in our market to acquire properties that match our — what we look for is characteristics and our ability to add value So $50 million is just — is an estimate of where we are right now with our expectation we’ve done roughly that level over the last couple of years and we funded that from cash flow and dispositions we are looking for opportunities and are continuing to do so we’re very confident in kind of that $50 million amount that Scott talked about being able to add properties we’ve improved the overall quality of the portfolio I think we talked about — you’ve seen the increase in our ABR You’ve seen the increase probably in our Green Street TAP scores So that’s really an effort just to continue to refine and improve the quality of this portfolio on your debt-to-EBITDA at 7.2x which seems a little higher than 6.6x in 4Q Can you provide some color on your expectations for your leverage level this year I think we expect to end the year in the low 6s There’s always a little bit of extra NOI that comes in in the fourth quarter around percent sales from tenants Tenants tend to hit their break points in the fourth quarter And so we see a pretty sizable increase in percentage rent in the fourth quarter that doesn’t repeat in the first quarter And we also had some termination fees in the fourth quarter that were higher than we had in the first quarter here So I think when we get to the end of the year our focus on continuing to strengthen the balance sheet we received an investment-grade credit rating earnings per share but also strengthening the balance sheet So I think if you look back — Scott mentioned the seasonality but if you look back clearly I think we’re down 600 basis points from the first quarter of ’24 So super pleased with the progress we’re making We think we’ve taken some big steps there and you should continue to see us not only grow earnings at a rate we think will be very attractive but also have a stronger balance sheet Operator: The next question comes from the line of Mitch Germain from Citizens Bank Mitch Germain: I wanted to touch on some of the redevelopment efforts I think all of you provided some perspective on them And I get that you’re doing work on pad sites like what are the projects that are underway at your centers that you think are really contributing to that 100 basis point lift in same-store I’m going to give just a quick intro to your question and then I’m going to turn it over to Christine to give you some more details But one of the things we’ve tried to do is show the building blocks for investors of how we continue to have consistent sustainable earnings growth And a piece of that is through redevelopment remerchandising and making sure that we’re getting the most value out of each piece of our property I think we have a series of slides that shows the properties we’re working And maybe I’ll just pause and turn it over to Christine to maybe talk about the specifics I think the important part in the redevelopment process is to evaluate where the opportunity So we always evaluate the terms and then look where we can turn tenants and improve the quality of revenue that requires some investment usually in the facade but also into some of the TI with those tenants I think the one that we’ve used as an example was Williams Trace where we retenanted with an EoS Fitness and that allowed us to free up some of the parking for some pads Lion Square is one of the larger ones that we’ll be doing this year should be completed or the majority of the completion should be by the end of the year That will allow us to retenant some of the space too to This is — we look for these ideal locations where we’re also seeing adjacent development activity So we ramp up some of those opportunities tied to where we’re seeing massing and new development coming to the area Garden Oaks has a very large track next to it There’s rumblings with various large grocers looking at the site we’re already starting to do the planning effort to invest in that property The planning is something that’s really most of the time when you do an investment like this The actual execution takes anywhere from 6 months to 8 months to complete especially the ones that we’ve been talking about on Page 20 and 21 these are already in planning and we’ll start continuing the execution through 2020 — this year 2025 and 2026 and we’re already starting to look at 2027 and 2028 with additional properties it gives you a little bit of color as to what we look for and why that’s where we expect that we’ll be able to drive quite a bit of the returns in our portfolio Some notes were a portion of some notes paid seems like with the revolver Can you just talk about kind of what happened in the quarter and what is that leg to push leverage lower I know Pillarstone is certainly something that is out there but what else is exist that’s going to bring into the kind of low 6x range the debt that was paid in the first quarter was just some amortization on our prudential bonds that we rolled into the revolver I think it’s going to come from both the increase in earnings that we expect to realize over the course of the year and over the next few years and then also cash flow from operations we had about $58 million from operating cash flows We were able to use a good portion of that to improve our balance sheet I think we’ll be in the $50 million to $60 million range in operating cash flows again And so there’s both just continuing operating cash flow improvement and certainly the Pillarstone when we work through that bankruptcy process and we expect those proceeds to be probably between $50 million and $70 million but it’s hard to predict the timing That’s why we haven’t included it in our guidance We’ll certainly also improve the balance sheet and lower our leverage Last one for me and probably for Christine I know you and your team do a really fantastic job getting the pulse of what is happening at your centers and your tenants there is some likelihood of a consumer pullback And I’m curious if some of your tenants on the service side or on the restaurant side are seeing any indication of that trend happening at this point Christine Mastandrea: Thank you for the question It is something that we’ve been having a close eye on I may have mentioned this earlier but one of — we see this as a trend more than just a pullback but alcohol sales for our restaurants have decreased It seems like dry January is extending into the year but we see that more related to people making healthful choices and lifestyle We have not — we’ve been tracking quite closely on the fitness side to see if there’s been a decrease in traffic and that has not been the case I look at that as people really looking for the comfort of their communities we do have a few restaurants that are towards the high end that’s probably been a little bit where we’ve seen some pullback But then we’ve had 2 restaurants that just — that do serve a little bit more on the higher end of the community in Phoenix just opened with huge success So it’s been something we’ve been watching but we haven’t really seen it impact us yet closely monitoring it but it hasn’t been — we’re not seeing the full effects of it and we’re also not seeing people pull back from — on the traffic yet as well Definitely do see the restaurant trade that they’re starting to move again towards a different mix for items that they’re producing out there to entice people but it hasn’t been a big pullback in sales yet Christine is spot on but I will tell you that her and her team do a tremendous job of picking the right operators our tenant identification standards have improved significantly since Christine has taken leadership of that team And so that’s a big part of what Whitestone does is obviously watching but ensuring we’re picking the strongest tenants through local knowledge and data Christine Mastandrea: And I just will add one more thing to it This is really something that’s been very striking is we’re definitely seeing the contractors coming out of their book shortening in 2026 which is one of the reasons why we’re looking at amping up some of that investment into the centers because we see that there might be a bending of the cost curve with construction projects The next question comes from the line of John Massocca from B John Massocca: I know you talked a little bit about kind of what was moving the numbers around in the occupancy this quarter But if you included those 2 leases you talked about where you brought in kind of a higher paying tenant what would kind of be the occupancy on like a signed but not opened basis If you look at just Terravita and moving out the tenant that Scott talked about and the 2 new ones that makes up our — we think we were 93.9% [ph] last quarter Scott but we were down about 700 basis points from last quarter and it’s largely flat with those 2 new tenants We don’t report signed not opened like some of our peers because typically it’s not as big a gap for us because we get tenants open very quickly as you think about your shop tenant base today what’s kind of the rough divide between people offering services and people selling kind of hard goods I’ll start out and Christine will probably maybe add some as well we do have a slide that talks about our mix We’ve always focused on services and kind of e-commerce compatible tenants And so if you look at our space that we’ve identified as kind of hard soft goods it’s probably 15% but we don’t have your traditional big boxes So our tenants tend to be a little less impacted clearly by the impact of tariffs and I’ll let Christine add if she’d like I mean that’s one of the reasons why we’ve leaned into the services side because of the challenge in the goods being just if you look back just with Amazon So we’ve always been defined our role around that in the community is to be more service focused I’d say it’s really less than 15% checked and touch base with some of our restaurants they’re able to pivot quite quickly We do have some — we do have Fergusons in the portfolio We haven’t seen anything from them yet that would cause us concern maybe a fact that’s maybe a generous portion And then I know it’s only 60 basis points but your Dollar Tree exposure are those true Dollar Trees or are those Family Dollars and kind of if they are Family Dollars what are you kind of expecting in terms of underwriter credit impact from the split I will now hand the conference over to Dave Holeman for his closing comments We very much appreciate your attending and your interest in Whitestone We’re pleased with our start to 2025 and really remain very optimistic about our business model and the ability to produce in different economic cycles there’s a fair amount of uncertainty today in the economic environment but Whitestone is positioned very well We look forward to engaging with a number of you at 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the healing of soul and body and for the forgiveness of sins At the conclusion of the service of the Sacrament The biblical basis for the Sacrament is found in James 5:14-16: “Is any among you sick let him call for the presbyters of the church anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” In ancient Christian literature one may find indirect testimonies of the Mystery of Unction in Saint Irenaeus of Lyons and in Origen Later there are clear testimonies of it in Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom who have left prayers for the healing of the infirm which entered later into the rite of Unction; and likewise in Saint Cyril of Alexandria the Archbishop expressed that “We receive the Oil for forgiveness because healing and salvation are very much the same The spiritual healing that comes from receiving Unction tonight is for eternity will one day suffer the fate of every living thing But the soul is eternal - that is why the healing we experience may not manifest in our flesh “Let your foreheads be anointed so your minds become wise Let your hands be graced so that they perform good works Let your mouths be filled with sweet words Get the Orthodox Observer delivered to your inbox Download VCF • Join our Mailing Lists • Donate The information contained on the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is for informational purposes only Certain individuals and institutions are presented for reference purposes only and may not be under the supervision or jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese The Holy Archdiocese does not exercise any administrative oversight or assignment authority over clergy that are not part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Alliance Global Partners has revised its price target for Whitestone REIT (WSR, Financial) while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock Whitestone REIT has a strategic plan to fill the vacancies with tenants willing to pay higher rents The firm's Q1 performance is consistent with its 2025 guidance and long-term objectives indicating a stable outlook for the company Based on the consensus recommendation from 7 brokerage firms, Whitestone REIT's (WSR, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 2.0 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript “We are thrilled to commence our redevelopment plan at Lion Square to ensure the center more appropriately aligns with the needs and expectations of the area’s distinguished Asian community,” stated Dave Holeman “With all the investment activity currently being undertaken in Asiatown we felt that solidifying the property’s competitive standing made strategic sense to ensure it continues to stand out and supports the activity By investing in this center and improving its aesthetics we are in position to drive continued strong foot traffic and repeat sales while enhancing its appeal as a neighborhood town square and vibrant cultural hub.” In addition to benefiting from high barriers-to-entry like limited land availability for development and impressive growth drivers such as attracting more than 9 million visitors annually Houston’s Asiatown possesses many of the fundamental characteristics Whitestone prioritizes as part of its investment criteria Market rents in the district have risen significantly over the past decade largely due to continuous area improvements and low vacancy rates and Whitestone’s redevelopment of Lion Square is intended to capitalize on these trends and further boost the center’s revenue “There is a tremendous sense of pride and authenticity that permeates throughout Asiatown and we are honored to have a role in serving this community which boasts the second largest concentration of Asian-Americans in the country,” commented Christine Mastandrea “The redevelopment plan we designed for Lion Square was thoughtfully-conceived with critical input from architects and planners who are fully ingrained in the Asian culture and are deeply aware of how meaningful this center is to this neighborhood and we look forward to delivering an end-design that truly encapsulates the community’s spirit.” The 117,592-square-foot Lion Square is situated at the intersection of Bellaire Boulevard and Wilcrest Drive and draws more than 2 million visitors each year from across the metro area and neighboring Texas cities In addition to the Asian-focused Sun Wing Supermarket the center is home to numerous other retailers and restaurants that are intended to appeal to the Asian community rated the top dim sum restaurant in Houston Whitestone is also in the process of renovating the 5,100-square-foot pad site of the corner of Bellaire Boulevard and Wilcrest Drive to incorporate Asian elements into the building’s facade the space will house an Asian-themed restaurant Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix This Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws including discussion and analysis of our financial condition pending acquisitions and the impact of such acquisitions on our financial condition and results of operations anticipated capital expenditures required to complete projects amounts of anticipated cash distributions to our shareholders in the future and other matters These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but are the intent belief or current expectations of our management based on its knowledge and understanding of our business and industry Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “predicts,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” or the negative of such terms and variations of these words and similar expressions although not all forward-looking statements include these words These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this Report include: the imposition of federal income taxes if we fail to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) in any taxable year or forego an opportunity to ensure REIT status; uncertainties related to the national economy the real estate industry in general and in our specific markets; legislative or regulatory changes including changes to laws governing REITs; adverse economic or real estate developments or conditions in Texas or Arizona including the potential impact of COVID-19 on our tenants’ ability to pay their rent which could result in bad debt allowances or straight-line rent reserve adjustments; inflation and increases in interest rates operating costs or general and administrative expenses; availability and terms of capital and financing both to fund our operations and to refinance our indebtedness as it matures; decreases in rental rates or increases in vacancy rates; litigation risks; lease-up risks including leasing risks arising from exclusivity and consent provisions in leases with significant tenants; our inability to renew tenant leases or obtain new tenant leases upon the expiration of existing leases; our inability to generate sufficient cash flows due to market conditions changes in tax or other applicable laws; geopolitical conflicts such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the need to fund tenant improvements or other capital expenditures out of operating cash flow; and the risk that we are unable to raise capital for working capital acquisitions or other uses on attractive terms or at all and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time For Whitestone REIT – InvestorsDavid Mordy(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com For Whitestone REIT – Media:Matthew ChudobaWhitestonePR@icrinc.com  Whitestone REIT (WSR) has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025 highlighting robust growth in key operational metrics The company achieved a 4.8% increase in Same Store Net Operating Income (NOI) totaling $24.7 million compared to $23.5 million in Q1 2024 This growth reflects strong execution at the property level and a strategic focus on enhancing property performance Leasing spreads on a GAAP basis were impressive at 20.3% indicating significant pricing power and demand for Whitestone's retail spaces New leases recorded a remarkable 22.6% spread while renewal leases achieved a 19.9% increase a slight decline from 93.6% year-over-year as the company prioritized rent optimization over maximum occupancy Whitestone REIT reported revenues of $38.0 million a modest rise from $37.2 million in the previous year net income per diluted share fell to $0.07 from $0.18 in Q1 2024 Core Funds From Operations (FFO) rose to $13.1 million with FFO per share improving to $0.25 from $0.23 year-over-year The company continues to maintain a diverse portfolio of 55 community-centered properties across Texas and Arizona expecting Core FFO of $1.03 to $1.07 per share The anticipated Same Store NOI growth of 3.0-4.5% and a year-end occupancy target of 94.0-95.0% indicate sustained leasing momentum Whitestone declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.135 per share for Q2 2025 to be paid in three monthly installments of $0.045 each in April 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) today announced that its Board of Trustees has declared a monthly cash dividend of $0.045 per share on the Company's common shares and operating partnership units for the second quarter of 2025   The dividend represents a quarterly amount of $0.135 per share and an annualized amount of $0.54 per share The second quarter dividend distribution for 2025 will be as detailed below: Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country:  Phoenix This release contains supplemental financial measures that are not calculated pursuant to U.S generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) including EBITDAre Following are explanations and reconciliations of these metrics to their most comparable GAAP metric FFO: Funds From Operations: The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) defines FFO as net income (loss) (calculated in accordance with GAAP) excluding depreciation and amortization related to real estate gains or losses from the sale of certain real estate assets and impairment write-downs of certain real estate assets and investments in entities when the impairment is directly attributable to decreases in the value of depreciable real estate held by the entity We calculate FFO in a manner consistent with the NAREIT definition and also include adjustments for our unconsolidated real estate partnership Core Funds from Operations (“Core FFO”) is a non-GAAP measure we report or provide guidance with respect to “Core FFO” which removes the impact of certain non-recurring and non-operating transactions or other items we do not consider to be representative of our core operating results including default interest on debt of real estate partnership gains or losses associated with litigation involving the Company that is not in the normal course of business Management uses FFO and Core FFO as a supplemental measure to conduct and evaluate our business because there are certain limitations associated with using GAAP net income (loss) alone as the primary measure of our operating performance Historical cost accounting for real estate assets in accordance with GAAP implicitly assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time Because real estate values instead have historically risen or fallen with market conditions management believes that the presentation of operating results for real estate companies that use historical cost accounting is insufficient by itself investors and other interested parties use FFO and Core FFO as the primary metric for comparing the relative performance of equity REITs FFO and Core FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income or other measurements under GAAP as an indicator of our operating performance or to cash flows from operating investing or financing activities as a measure of liquidity FFO and Core FFO do not reflect working capital changes cash expenditures for capital improvements or principal payments on indebtedness Although our calculation of FFO is consistent with that of NAREIT there can be no assurance that FFO and Core FFO presented by us is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs David MordyDirector of Investor RelationsWhitestone REIT(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com Positioning asset to become an 18-hour activity hub that better serves the lifestyle needs of the surrounding community Meets neighborhood demand for an upscale coffeehouse premium fitness concepts and executive suites by bringing in Starbucks Reserve Texas that is expected to re-energize the center and strengthen its competitive position within the upscale neighborhoods it serves: Davenport Ranch 18-hour activity hub that more appropriately serves the lifestyle needs of the area and offers greater optionality for West Austin’s large number of seasoned entrepreneurs and business professionals Whitestone has signed agreements with several exciting and esteemed brands that are expected to drive engagement and traffic at the center throughout the day “Davenport is one of the best located retail properties in the country given the large tech workforce surrounding it and we believe that by strategically transforming the merchandising mix we will drive greater activity at the center better serve the surrounding community and increase the value of the property benefiting our shareholders Now is the appropriate time to undertake this effort as the area has lacked a grouping of businesses that provide comprehensive solutions to the area’s lifestyle needs and we are excited to deliver a much needed solution Coffee and fitness are proven traffic drivers with natural synergies that support the rest of Davenport’s merchandising mix and the executive suites will only strengthen the number of people who frequent the center each day.”  Starbucks Reserve®: Starbucks will be opening a 3,274-square-foot Reserve® location this summer Reserve® locations offer educational aspects of coffee roasting and feature coffee bars that serve Starbucks’ premium high-end Reserve® line of coffee and display hand-painted murals created by local artists The Reserve® at Davenport will be designed to spotlight Starbucks’ exquisite Reserve® coffee and showcase its heritage expertise and dedication to coffee craft through interactive coffee experiences where barista craft is the cornerstone custom artwork developed by Austin-based artists will be featured throughout the space adding to the ambiance and helping to deepen the connection Austinites have with their beloved city Pvolve: Actress Jennifer Aniston's favorite low-impact fitness method will open a 3,126-square-foot studio by the spring Pvolve is a workout method that pairs functional movement with resistance equipment to build strong The Pvolve Method is supported by a Clinical Advisory Board of doctors to offer effective workouts that help you break a sweat RVE Fitness: The luxury fitness brand specializes in offering its members an unparalleled fitness and wellness experience The 7,815-sqaure-foot-space will feature a wellness center and gym with a variety of classes and services available to enhance overall well-being From cardio and strength training equipment two Austin-based attorneys who are fiercely committed to health and wellness The duo decided to open the franchise at Davenport because they were members at the center’s previous gym and enjoyed the ability to work out in their own neighborhood but craved a facility that offered a higher-end experience with top-notch amenities and services Sandoval and Mata saw a tremendous opportunity to bring the luxury fitness brand to Davenport and quickly build a large and loyal membership given the center’s strong traffic numbers and strategic location in the heart of tech-rich West Austin The gym and wellness center will open in the fall and feature private changing rooms and showers CUBExec: In an effort to better connect Austin’s seasoned entrepreneurs and growing business community with one another a brand specializing in offering appealing executive suites and professional conference space CUBExec will be connected to RVE Fitness for added convenience and on-demand fitness and several of its executive suites will be available for rent by the first quarter of 2026 The addition of CUBExec provides the workforce in West Austin with an intriguing and convenient option for networking and privacy without having to commute to downtown RVE Fitness and CUBExec are bespoke solutions for this high-end section of West Austin All of them are very selective in where they open locations prioritizing growing neighborhoods that are in proximity to a robust and well-educated workforce What’s unique about Whitestone is our portfolio of holdings is concentrated in markets like this and that is why we can attract upscale brands which are all about fostering engagement with the neighborhoods they serve and are a strong match with Whitestone’s ethos of creating local connections within our communities.” located at 3801 North Capital of Texas Highway is situated amidst the bustling hub of high-tech companies and is just minutes from the Apple and Tesla campuses The average household income within a three-mile radius of the center surpasses $247,790 while the average home values total more than $1.28 million Stephens Episcopal School are both in close proximity to the property and continue to drive traffic and spur development in the area For Whitestone REIT – InvestorsDavid Mordy(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com For Whitestone REIT – Media:Matthew ChudobaWhitestonePR@icrinc.com Calls on Independent Trustees of Whitestone to Initiate Strategic Review Process to Maximize Value for Whitestone Shareholders Reminds Trustees of the Whitestone Board's Fiduciary Duties BALTIMORE, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- MCB Real Estate ("MCB"), a leading commercial real estate developer and investment management firm with a diverse nationwide portfolio and approximately $3 billion in AUM, today sent a letter to the Board of Trustees of Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) ("Whitestone") withdrawing MCB's previously announced proposal to acquire the company MCB sent the following letter to the Whitestone Board: MCB Real Estate ("MCB" or "we") delivered an attractive fully-financed proposal to the Whitestone Board to acquire Whitestone for $15 per share in an all-cash transaction Our proposal would maximize value to Whitestone's shareholders delivering immediate and certain value in the form of a 14.5% premium to Whitestone's share price prior to our initial proposal on June 3 and a 61.8% premium to Whitestone's unaffected share price prior to the rumored Fortress proposal on October 26 We have made repeated efforts to engage with the Whitestone Board over the last several months but each of those attempts has been summarily rebuffed The Board's refusal to grant due diligence or commence a strategic alternatives process is not consistent with its duties and indicates a boardroom culture of entrenchment While we continue to believe our proposal is the best path forward for shareholders our attempts to engage have been rebuffed at every turn so we are withdrawing our proposal to acquire Whitestone at this time We are disappointed and disturbed at the Board's intransigence The Company's recent public comments make it painfully clear that the Board is not open-minded or even willing to give real consideration to opportunities to advance shareholders' best interests Just a few weeks ago, Whitestone defended its entrenched position with unsupported and unrealistic claims of Whitestone's greater hypothetical "intrinsic value." Notably proven or even explained. Whitestone also attempted to rationalize the Board's refusal to consider alternatives by relying on a period of stock price outperformance that was driven by multiple acquisition rumors and proposals When pressed on whether the Board is open to opportunities to enhance value on Whitestone's third quarter 2024 earnings call Whitestone CEO David Holeman falsely asserted that the Board is actively looking at strategic options he seemingly didn't even understand what such a process to maximize value would actually entail "I would tell you that our board reviews the best things for shareholders all the time So we are actively looking at what are the best ways to add value what are the best ways to produce a return to our shareholders So I think we are actively doing that just like we should and so I'm not sure I'm clear with your question." Given the Board's refusal to engage with us regarding our proposal or conduct a process to explore whether other parties may have an interest in transacting with Whitestone Holeman's comments are at best a naïve sidestep to the question and at worst a downright lie to shareholders We have heard from a number of other shareholders that they are supportive of a potential transaction and share our frustration with the Whitestone Board We believe some of these shareholders have reached out to Whitestone directly to demand answers it appears that the Whitestone Board has ignored these concerns and refused to engage with them just as it has consistently refused to engage with MCB As Whitestone's largest actively managed shareholder with ownership of 4,690,000 shares representing 9.4% of Whitestone's common shares Miller are two new and well-regarded independent trustees whom we hope will bring fresh perspective to the Board and ensure that the Whitestone Board acts in accordance with its fiduciary duties including taking appropriate steps to maximize value for Whitestone shareholders The reputations and careers of these professionals and we call on them to act in shareholders' best interests We believe the inherent disadvantages of Whitestone as a standalone company and the upside for shareholders from a well-run strategic review process As we have said from the onset of this process our interests are aligned with other Whitestone shareholders Whitestone shareholders deserve a board that is committed to considering all opportunities to maximize value If the Whitestone Board continues its pattern of delay and entrenchment MCB believes the entire Board should be removed at the next annual meeting of shareholders While we are withdrawing our proposal at this time we remain a significant shareholder of the company and will continue to consider all options available to MCB and other Whitestone shareholders to ensure that the Board upholds its responsibilities ‍Advisors‍MCB has engaged Vinson & Elkins LLP as lead counsel and Wells Fargo is serving as financial advisor to MCB ‍Media Contacts‍Andrew Siegel / Lucas Pers / Lyle WestonJoele Frank Soon after acquiring Westridge Square in 2022 MCB Real Estate launched a comprehensive repositioning strategy focusing on tenant relocations a leading commercial real estate developer and investment management firm with a diverse nationwide portfolio and.. Commercial Real Estate Real Estate Banking & Financial Services Shareholder Activism Do not sell or share my personal information: Please log in with any of the following accounts: ASICentral Don't have an account? Sign Up Enter your email address and we'll send you directions to change your password Enter your email address and we'll send you your username AA&P is an Illinois-based distributorship that’s been in business for 32 years and shouldn’t be confused with the popular supplier brand of similar name Whitestone has more acquisitions in its plans • The Deal: Whitestone Branding (asi/359741) has acquired American Apparel & Promotions (AA&P) retaining its team • Smooth Transition: AA&P Founder Sharon Meyer is not joining Whitestone but will be working to ensure a smooth transition • More M&A: Whitestone aims for long-term growth with more acquisitions planned Whitestone Branding (asi/359741), a Counselor Best Place to Work, has acquired American Apparel & Promotions (AA&P) Financial terms of the deal were not released American Apparel & Promotions is an Illinois-based distributorship that’s been in business for 32 years. It’s not to be confused with the popular supplier of similar name – American Apparel, which is owned by Counselor Top 40 supplier Gildan (asi/56842) president and founder of Whitestone Branding (asi/359741) who is joining Whitestone as executive program manager is helping ensure a smooth transition but is not joining Whitestone She’s confident her team and clients are in good hands “We’ve spent more than three decades building trusted relationships and I know Whitestone will honor that legacy through its collaborative people-first culture and bold approach to brand merchandising,” Sharon Meyer said “I’m not simply retiring; I’m moving on to new ad(ventures) – both personal adventures and new ventures – and I'm confident that AA&P’s clients and staff will thrive under Whitestone’s leadership.” called the acquisition a strategic partnership that deepens the firm’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences “It’s my goal to ensure Sharon’s clients – many of whom have been with AA&P for over three decades – will continue to experience the same level of quality and service for decades to come,” said Sommer, Counselor’s 2024 Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year “Their approach to customer service aligns deeply with how Whitestone has been built I’m thrilled to welcome their talented team into our dynamic and progressive culture.” Whitestone has now made three acquisitions since July 2024, including Merchful and Design Like Whoa. “Our long-term strategy is to make 7 to 10 acquisitions over the next decade,” Sommer told ASI Media adding that the firm works on a salaried sales compensation model in order to prioritize long-term relationships and consultative selling “AA&P’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer service mirrors Whitestone’s own ethos,” Sommer said “We believe businesses are successful because of the people in them While headquartered in his native New York the company operates on a fully remote work model and has team members around the country Whitestone ranked first in the medium-sized company category and second overall on Counselor’s 2024 list of the Best Places to Work in the promotional products industry Employees said that the three words that best describe the distributorship are “innovative,” “creative” and “collaborative.” Subscribe to ASI's industry-leading newsletters.All the award-winning content from ASICentral and Print & Promo Marketing Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter You have been successfully added to our mailing list keeping you up-to-date with our latest news 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) today announced that it will release its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31 The Company will host a webcast and conference call to discuss the results on Tuesday The webcast and conference call access information is as follows: and a telephone replay will be available through March 18 To listen to a live webcast of the conference call, please visit Whitestone's investor relations website A replay of the call will be available on Whitestone’s website via the webcast link David MordyDirector of Investor RelationsWhitestone REIT(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) today announced its operating and financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 Whitestone creates neighborhood center communities in its high-quality open-air shopping centers that it acquires and redevelops primarily in some of the largest high-household-income markets in the Sunbelt Net income attributable to common shareholders per diluted share was $0.33 and $0.03 Net income attributable to common shareholders per diluted share was $0.72 and $0.38 “We are pleased to report strong fourth quarter and full year operating and financial results highlighted by 11% year over year Core FFO per share growth 5.1% Same Store NOI growth for the full year 2024 and a fourth quarter ratio of debt to EBITDAre of 6.6X an improvement of almost one full turn over fourth quarter 2023   The leasing environment in our markets remains robust evidenced by our 21.9% combined GAAP leasing spreads in the fourth quarter extending our streak to 11 consecutive quarters with leasing spreads in excess of 17% We remain confident in the quality of our portfolio strength of our well-diversified tenant base and the ability of our team to execute on the opportunities before us to drive strong sustainable earnings growth through strategically focusing on sunbelt markets and leveraging our leadership position in high-value shop space (77% of ABR) Our first quarter 2025 dividend represents a 9% increase from the prior quarter and today we are providing an initial 2025 Core FFO guidance range of $1.03 to $1.07 We look forward to providing more color on our fourth quarter earnings call tomorrow morning.” Fourth Quarter 2024 Operating and Financial ResultsAll per share amounts are on a diluted per common share and operating partnership (“OP”) unit basis unless stated otherwise.Reconciliations of Net Income Attributable to Whitestone REIT to FFO Full Year 2024 Operating and Financial ResultsAll per share amounts are on a diluted per common share and operating partnership (“OP”) unit basis unless stated otherwise Operating ResultsFor the three-month periods ending December 31 the Company’s operating highlights were as follows: the Company declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.135 per common share and OP unit for the first quarter of 2025 to be paid in three equal installments of $0.045 in January generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) net income available to common shareholders will be within the range of $0.33 to $0.37 per diluted share and Core FFO will be within the range of $1.03 to $1.07 per diluted share and OP Unit Whitestone wholly owned 55 Community-Centered Properties™ with 4.9 million square feet of gross leasable area (“GLA”) Five of the 55 Community-Centered Properties™ are land parcels held for future development The portfolio is comprised of 31 properties in Texas and 24 in Arizona Whitestone’s Community-Centered Properties are located in the MSA's of Austin (6) The Company’s properties in these markets are generally in high-traffic locations surrounded by high-household-income communities the Company’s diversified tenant base was comprised of 1,445 tenants with the largest tenant accounting for only 2.2% of annualized base rental revenues Lease terms range from less than one year for smaller tenants to more than 15 years for larger tenants Whitestone’s leases generally include minimum monthly lease payments and tenant reimbursements for payment of taxes and typically exclude restrictive lease clauses In conjunction with the issuance of its financial results the Company invites you to listen to its earnings release conference call to be broadcast live on Tuesday Conference call access information is as follows: To listen to a webcast of the conference call click on the Investor Relations tab of the Company’s website A replay of the call will be available on Whitestone’s website via the webcast link until the Company’s next earnings release Additional information about Whitestone can be found on the Company’s website and a telephone replay will be available through Friday The fourth quarter earnings release and supplemental data package will be located in the “News and Events” and “Financial Reporting” tabs of the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.whitestonereit.com The earnings release and supplemental data package will also be available by mail upon request please call Investor Relations at (713) 435-2219 Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers) education and entertainment to the surrounding communities The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy including discussion and analysis of our financial condition; pending acquisitions and the impact of such acquisitions on our financial condition and results of operations; statements related to our expectations regarding the performance of our business; anticipated capital expenditures required to complete projects; amounts of anticipated cash distributions to our shareholders in the future; and other matters These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the intent Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “predicts,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “hopes,” “seeks,” “estimates” or the negative of such terms and variations of these words and similar expressions Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this Report include: the imposition of federal income taxes if we fail to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) in any taxable year or forego an opportunity to ensure REIT status; uncertainties related to the national economy and the real estate industry both in general and in our specific markets; legislative or regulatory changes including the potential impact of public health emergencies which could result in bad debt allowances or straight-line rent reserve adjustments; increases in interest rates which may increase our operating costs or general and administrative expenses; our current geographic concentration in the Houston and Phoenix metropolitan area markets makes us susceptible to potential local economic downturns; natural disasters which may increase as a result of climate change may adversely affect our returns and adversely impact our existing and prospective tenants; increasing focus by stakeholders on environmental and governance matters; financial institution disruptions; availability and terms of capital and financing both to fund our operations and to refinance our indebtedness as it matures; decreases in rental rates or increases in vacancy rates; harm to our reputation ability to do business and results of operations as a result of improper conduct by our employees agents or business partners; litigation risks; lease-up risks including leasing risks arising from exclusivity and consent provisions in leases with significant tenants; our inability to renew tenant leases or obtain new tenant leases upon the expiration of existing leases; risks related to generative artificial intelligence tools and language models along with the potential interpretations and conclusions they might make regarding our business and prospects particularly concerning the spread of misinformation; our inability to generate sufficient cash flows due to market conditions such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine the conflict in the Gaza Strip and unrest in the Middle East; the need to fund tenant improvements or other capital expenditures out of our operating cash flow; and the risk that we are unable to raise capital for working capital acquisitions or other uses on attractive terms or at all: the timing and the ultimate amount we will collect in connection with the redemption of our equity investment in Pillarstone Capital REIT Operating Partnership LP (“Pillarstone” or “Pillarstone OP.”); and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K EBITDAre: The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) defines EBITDAre as net income computed in accordance with GAAP depreciation and amortization and impairment write-downs of depreciable property and of investments in unconsolidated affiliates caused by a decrease in value of depreciable property in the affiliate plus or minus losses and gains on the disposition of depreciable property including losses/gains on change in control and adjustments to reflect the entity’s share of EBITDAre of the unconsolidated affiliates and consolidated affiliates with non-controlling interests We calculate EBITDAre in a manner consistent with the NAREIT definition Management believes that EBITDAre represents a supplemental non-GAAP performance measure that provides investors with a relevant basis for comparing REITs There can be no assurance the EBITDAre as presented by the Company is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs EBITDAre should not be considered as an alternative to net income or other measurements under GAAP as indicators of operating performance or to cash flows from operating investing or financing activities as measures of liquidity EBITDAre does not reflect working capital changes FFO: Funds From Operations: NAREIT defines FFO as net income (loss) (calculated in accordance with GAAP) Management uses FFO and Core FFO as a supplemental measure to conduct and evaluate our business because there are certain limitations associated with using GAAP net income alone as the primary measure of our operating performance  Because real estate values instead have historically risen or fallen with market conditions investors and other interested parties use FFO as the primary metric for comparing the relative performance of equity REITs FFO and Core FFO should not be considered as alternatives to net income or other measurements under GAAP  FFO and Core FFO do not reflect working capital changes Although our calculation of FFO is consistent with that of NAREIT there can be no assurance that FFO and Core FFO presented by us is comparable to similarly titled measures of other REITs NOI: Net Operating Income: Management believes that NOI is a useful measure of our property operating performance We define NOI as operating revenues (rental and other revenues) less property and related expenses (property operation and maintenance and real estate taxes) Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating NOI and our NOI may not be comparable to other REITs Because NOI excludes general and administrative expenses deficit in earnings of real estate partnership and includes NOI of real estate partnership (pro rata) and net income attributable to noncontrolling interest reflects the revenues and expenses directly associated with owning and operating commercial real estate properties and the impact to operations from trends in occupancy rates providing perspective not immediately apparent from net income We use NOI to evaluate our operating performance since NOI allows us to evaluate the impact that factors such as occupancy levels lease rates and tenant base have on our results management believes that NOI provides useful information to the investment community about our property and operating performance when compared to other REITs since NOI is generally recognized as a standard measure of property performance in the real estate industry NOI should not be viewed as a measure of our overall financial performance since it does not reflect the level of capital expenditure and leasing costs necessary to maintain the operating performance of our properties including general and administrative expenses equity or deficit in earnings of real estate partnership and gain or loss on sale or disposition of assets Same Store NOI: Management believes that Same Store NOI is a useful measure of the Company’s property operating performance because it includes only the properties that have been owned for the entire period being compared and that it is frequently used by the investment community Same Store NOI assists in eliminating differences in NOI due to the acquisition or disposition of properties during the period being presented providing a more consistent measure of the Company’s performance The Company defines Same Store NOI as operating revenues (rental and other revenues and lease termination fees) less property and related expenses (property operation and maintenance and real estate taxes) and NOI of our investment in Pillarstone OP (pro rata) We define “Non-Same Stores” as properties that have been acquired since the beginning of the period being compared and properties that have been sold but not classified as discontinued operations Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating Same Store NOI the Company's Same Store NOI may not be comparable to that of other REITs which we define as total debt net of insurance financing less cash plus our proportional share of net debt of real estate partnership which we define as net debt divided by EBITDAre because we believe they are helpful as supplemental measures in assessing our ability to service our financing obligations and in evaluating balance sheet leverage against that of other REITs net debt and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre should not be viewed as a stand-alone measure of our overall liquidity and leverage our REITs may use different methodologies for calculating net debt and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre and accordingly our net debt and net debt to pro forma EBITDAre may not be comparable to that of other REITs Investor and Media Relations:David MordyDirector Investor RelationsWhitestone REIT(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) released the federal income tax treatment of 2024 cash distributions to holders of common shares (CUSIP 966084204) The final classifications of the distributions for 2024 (1) Represents additional characterization of “Total Capital Gain Distribution.”(2) Represents dividends eligible for the 20% qualified business income deduction under Section 199A Shareholders are encouraged to consult with their personal tax advisors as to their specific tax treatment of Whitestone REIT cash distributions contact Whitestone REIT’s Investor Relations Department David MordyDirector of Investor RelationsWhitestone REIT(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com Proposal Would Deliver Immediate and Certain 14.5% Premium to Whitestone Shareholders Compared to Share Price Prior to Initial Proposal Per Share Price Represents a 61.8% Premium to Whitestone's Unaffected Share Price Prior to Takeover Rumors Sends Letter to Whitestone Board Detailing Compelling and Certain Value of All-Cash Proposal Launches www.MaximizingWhitestoneValue.com Whitestone shareholders would receive $15.00 per share in cash representing a 14.5% premium to Whitestone's share price as of June 3 the last trading day prior to the disclosure of MCB's previous proposal a 11.4% premium to Whitestone's last trading share price and a 61.8% premium to the Whitestone share price prior to the rumored Fortress proposal in October 2023 MCB's proposal is not subject to any financing contingency "As the third largest Whitestone shareholder and largest actively managed shareholder our interests are aligned with the company's other owners and we are committed to pursuing a transaction that maximizes value," said MCB Managing Partner and Co-Founder P David Bramble. "Our efforts to engage in constructive discussions have been rebuffed to date but we stand ready to complete due diligence and execute a definitive agreement expeditiously and are committed to seeing this through to completion We ask our fellow shareholders to urge the Whitestone Board to uphold their fiduciary duties and engage with us in good faith without further delay." MCB previously disclosed a proposal to acquire Whitestone for $14.00 per share in cash on June 3 Whitestone stock has notably underperformed its Peers1 and is still trading at approximately the same value as when MCB submitted its previous proposal MCB sent the following letter to the Whitestone Board regarding the revised proposal: As a follow-up to our conversations following the MCB Real Estate ("MCB" or "we") offer to acquire Whitestone REIT ("Whitestone" or the "Company") and based on feedback we received from Whitestone shareholders MCB is hereby increasing its offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Whitestone including all of the outstanding common partnership interests ("OP Units") in Whitestone REIT Operating Partnership to a price of $15.00 per share (the "Revised Proposal") The improved $15.00 per share all-cash proposal provides compelling and certain value to Whitestone shareholders the last trading day prior to the disclosure of our previous proposal and a 11.4% premium to Whitestone's last trading share price relative to the Whitestone share price prior to the rumored Fortress offer our $15.00 per share proposal represents a 61.8% premium. Whitestone has not closed above $15.00 per share since 2016 As the third largest Whitestone shareholder and largest actively managed shareholder with 4,690,000 shares representing 9.4% of Whitestone's common shares our interests are aligned with other shareholders We are focused on maximizing shareholder value and are confident that this proposal is the most compelling opportunity to achieve that goal Over the past few months since the initial proposal was disclosed on June 3 Whitestone's stock has noticeably underperformed its Peers1 still trading at approximately the same level as when MCB submitted the previous proposal Whitestone is burdened with a cost of capital disadvantage relative to its public and private peers MCB believes that the Company is trading at a cap rate based on last twelve months NOI of approximately $102 million which equates to a borrowing rate above 6.5% with today's SOFR rate to preserve capital for growth initiatives the Company cut its dividend in April 2020 and has a lower dividend yield than the majority of Peers which will also continue to limit future share price appreciation due to the lack of support from retail and income-oriented investors The expensive cost of equity and cost of borrowing make it a challenge for Whitestone to raise any new capital to fund acquisitions These are the fundamental drivers of value creation for shareholders and illustrate why the Company should not remain public we've heard from a number of shareholders that they are supportive of a potential transaction and would like to see the Whitestone Board engage with us we have attempted on numerous occasions to engage with the Whitestone management team to work toward a transaction that would maximize value for Whitestone shareholders We are now delivering a per share proposal price that is higher than where Whitestone shares have closed at any point in over eight years While our efforts have been rebuffed to date we remain committed to seeing our proposed transaction through to completion as we strongly believe this is the right path forward for shareholders We are confident that with engagement and diligence we can quickly reach agreement on a transaction that delivers far more value for Whitestone shareholders than they could achieve if Whitestone stays on its current course We expect to fund the acquisition with a combination of equity and debt Our contemplated equity for this transaction is fully committed from discretionary capital managed by MCB With respect to the debt portion of the acquisition we have received a Highly Confident Letter from Wells Fargo with respect to the debt financing needed to complete the transaction to be converted to a full commitment at execution of the definitive transaction agreements The Highly Confident Letter was attached to the original proposal and has been reaffirmed by Wells Fargo Any definitive transaction agreement between us and the Company would not be subject to a financing contingency Representatives of Wells Fargo are available to address any questions you may have on the proposed debt financing MCB is a trusted leader in commercial real estate investment with a track record of high-performance investments throughout the United States We have considerable resources and access to capital and a consistent track record of successfully closing complex commercial real estate transactions Based on our knowledge of the industry and public data regarding your portfolio and financial performance we are confident our improved $15.00 per share offer represents an extremely compelling proposal We have reviewed in detail this potential transaction with our Investment Committee and have received full support to submit this proposal Any binding offer for the Company on behalf of MCB would require the final approval of our Investment Committee No binding obligation or commitment for either of us will arise with respect to this Revised Proposal or any transaction until we have executed a mutually agreeable definitive agreement We remain very enthusiastic about an acquisition of Whitestone and will immediately commit the resources to expeditiously move forward Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions MCB has engaged Vinson & Elkins LLP as lead counsel in connection with the transaction Wells Fargo is serving as financial advisor to MCB Andrew Siegel / Lucas Pers / Lyle WestonJoele Frank Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) has initiated a strategic redevelopment of Lion Square in Houston's Asiatown District The project aims to transform the Sun Wing Supermarket-anchored center into a cultural hub serving the Asian community which attracts over 2 million visitors annually will undergo significant upgrades including:Modern aesthetics blending Chinese and Vietnamese architectural influencesEnhanced greenery and sustainable irrigation systemsImproved security and lightingBetter walkability and connectivity aligned with Houston's Walkable Places program located at Bellaire Boulevard and Wilcrest Drive houses notable tenants like Crown Seafood Restaurant Whitestone is renovating a 5,100-square-foot pad site to incorporate Asian elements for a future Asian-themed restaurant Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) ha avviato una riqualificazione strategica di Lion Square nel quartiere Asiatown di Houston Il progetto punta a trasformare il centro commerciale ancorato dal Sun Wing Supermarket in un polo culturale dedicato alla comunità asiatica che attira oltre 2 milioni di visitatori all'anno subirà importanti miglioramenti tra cui:Estetica moderna che fonde influenze architettoniche cinesi e vietnamiteAumento delle aree verdi e sistemi di irrigazione sostenibiliMiglioramenti nella sicurezza e nell'illuminazioneMaggiore percorribilità e connettività in linea con il programma Walkable Places di Houston situato all'incrocio tra Bellaire Boulevard e Wilcrest Drive ospita importanti attività come il ristorante Crown Seafood Whitestone sta ristrutturando un'area di 5.100 piedi quadrati per integrare elementi asiatici in vista di un futuro ristorante a tema asiatico Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) ha iniciado una reurbanización estratégica de Lion Square en el distrito Asiatown de Houston El proyecto busca transformar el centro anclado por Sun Wing Supermarket en un núcleo cultural para la comunidad asiática que recibe más de 2 millones de visitantes anualmente será sometida a importantes mejoras que incluyen:Estética moderna que combina influencias arquitectónicas chinas y vietnamitasMayor vegetación y sistemas de riego sosteniblesMejoras en seguridad e iluminaciónMejor caminabilidad y conectividad acorde con el programa Walkable Places de Houston ubicado en Bellaire Boulevard y Wilcrest Drive alberga inquilinos destacados como Crown Seafood Restaurant Whitestone está renovando un espacio de 5,100 pies cuadrados para incorporar elementos asiáticos en un futuro restaurante temático asiático Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR)는 휴스턴 아시아타운 지구에 위치한 라이온 스퀘어의 전략적 재개발을 시작했습니다 이 프로젝트는 Sun Wing 슈퍼마켓이 중심인 이 쇼핑센터를 아시아 커뮤니티를 위한 문화 허브로 탈바꿈시키는 것을 목표로 합니다 연간 200만 명 이상의 방문객을 끌어들이는 117,592평방피트 규모의 이 부동산은 다음과 같은 주요 업그레이드를 거칠 예정입니다:중국과 베트남 건축 양식을 결합한 현대적 미관강화된 녹지 공간 및 지속 가능한 관개 시스템향상된 보안 및 조명휴스턴의 Walkable Places 프로그램에 부합하는 보행성 및 연결성 강화 벨레어 블러바드와 윌크레스트 드라이브에 위치한 이 센터에는 Crown Seafood Restaurant 또한 Whitestone은 향후 아시아 테마 레스토랑을 위해 5,100평방피트 규모의 부지를 아시아 요소를 반영하여 리노베이션하고 있습니다 Whitestone REIT (NYSE : WSR) a lancé une réhabilitation stratégique de Lion Square dans le quartier Asiatown de Houston Le projet vise à transformer le centre commercial ancré par Sun Wing Supermarket en un pôle culturel au service de la communauté asiatique qui attire plus de 2 millions de visiteurs par an notamment :Une esthétique moderne mêlant influences architecturales chinoises et vietnamiennesUn renforcement des espaces verts et des systèmes d’irrigation durablesUne sécurité et un éclairage améliorésUne meilleure accessibilité piétonne et connectivité en accord avec le programme Walkable Places de Houston situé au croisement de Bellaire Boulevard et Wilcrest Drive accueille des locataires renommés tels que Crown Seafood Restaurant Whitestone rénove une surface de 5 100 pieds carrés pour y intégrer des éléments asiatiques en vue d’un futur restaurant à thème asiatique Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) hat eine strategische Neugestaltung von Lion Square im Asiatown-Viertel von Houston eingeleitet das von Sun Wing Supermarket verankerte Einkaufszentrum in ein kulturelles Zentrum für die asiatische Gemeinschaft zu verwandeln die jährlich über 2 Millionen Besucher anzieht darunter:Moderne Ästhetik mit Einflüssen chinesischer und vietnamesischer ArchitekturVerbesserte Begrünung und nachhaltige BewässerungssystemeErhöhte Sicherheit und BeleuchtungBessere Begehbarkeit und Vernetzung im Einklang mit Houstons Walkable Places-Programm Das Zentrum an der Kreuzung von Bellaire Boulevard und Wilcrest Drive beherbergt namhafte Mieter wie Crown Seafood Restaurant Zusätzlich renoviert Whitestone eine 5.100 Quadratfuß große Fläche um asiatische Elemente für ein zukünftiges asiatisch inspiriertes Restaurant zu integrieren Whitestone's strategic Lion Square redevelopment enhances cultural relevance and market positioning in Houston's growing Asiatown district with strong fundamentals Whitestone REIT's redevelopment of Lion Square represents a strategic asset enhancement initiative in Houston's Asiatown District focusing on strengthening the cultural alignment and market positioning of this 117,592-square-foot neighborhood center The property already demonstrates solid fundamentals drawing over 2 million annual visitors and featuring an Asian supermarket anchor alongside complementary tenants like Crown Seafood Restaurant (rated Houston's top dim sum restaurant) The redevelopment's focus on integrating traditional Chinese and Vietnamese architectural elements while enhancing walkability and sustainability features demonstrates Whitestone's market-responsive approach to property management This culturally-attuned strategy appears well-aligned with the demographics of Houston's Asiatown district which boasts the second-largest concentration of Asian-Americans nationally Market rents in the district have risen significantly over the past decade due to continuous area improvements and low vacancy rates The property's proximity to the $1 billion Park Eight Place development (less than a mile away on Bellaire Boulevard) may create positive spillover effects for the submarket The renovation of a 5,100-square-foot pad site for an Asian-themed restaurant further reinforces the property's cultural positioning While specific redevelopment costs aren't disclosed the initiative demonstrates management's commitment to proactive asset management within their Texas and Arizona portfolio this redevelopment represents a positive indicator of management's approach to maintaining competitive properties in high-barrier-to-entry locations By enhancing the center's aesthetic appeal Whitestone is positioning this asset to potentially capitalize on continued strength in Houston's specialty retail market For Whitestone REIT – InvestorsDavid Mordy(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com For Whitestone REIT – Media:Matthew ChudobaWhitestonePR@icrinc.com  Already have an account? Login World’s fastest-growing indoor pickleball operator supports the market’s active and health-conscious lifestyle while also complementing Terravita’s diversified tenant mix premium indoor courts and offer an unparalleled experience for the area’s high number of pickleballers the world’s fastest-growing operator of indoor pickleball facilities to open a 20,909-square-foot location at Terravita Marketplace in Scottsdale The strategic addition of The Picklr Cave Creek supports the active and health-conscious lifestyle of the communities the center serves – North Scottsdale Carefree and Cave Creek – and provides the high number of pickleballers in the area with a state-of-the-art Founded in 2021 by Austin Wood and Jorge Barragan who grew frustrated by the lack of pickleball facilities available and long wait times associated with securing a court The Picklr has already become the fastest-growing indoor pickleball franchise in North America All of The Picklr venues feature top-of-the-line courts and lighting to provide the optimal player experience former NFL quarterback Drew Brees was named Brand Ambassador as well as Owner/Area Developer of 30 Picklr franchises “We pride ourselves on adding value for our shareholders and the neighborhoods we serve by being very strategic and disciplined in our approach to leasing and The Picklr Cave Creek exhibits many of the characteristics we look for in the tenants we choose to partner with,” stated Dave Holeman The Picklr is a major all-day traffic driver that is well-regarded for being best-in-class and fostering community engagement as we have seen from our partnership with The Picklr McKinney at Eldorado Plaza in Dallas it is a catalyst for contributing to the growth of the surrounding tenants by boosting their sales and increasing the frequency of customer visits This is a highly respected operation and we are pleased to expand our relationship with them.” The Picklr Cave Creek will be located next to Ace Hardware and is expected to open to the public in the second half of 2025 The eight-court facility will host league competitions climate-controlled environment to hone their skillsets without having to battle the dryness and heat associated with Arizona summers surrounded by the neighborhoods of Whispering Rock Estates Desert Mountain and the Boulders Community enables pickleballers to play on their preferred schedules during their lunch breaks or after the sun sets “Greater Phoenix is made up of active-minded families and individuals who prioritize their own health and well-being and pickleball has exploded in popularity as a result,” commented Christine Mastandrea the limited number of courts currently available simply do not come close to satisfying the needs of the community we are helping to solve some of these supply constraints while also supporting the preferred lifestyle of the market.”    Situated with a 15-minute drive from TSMC’s semiconductor fabrication facility and historic downtown Cave Creek Terravita offers a diverse range of amenities and services to meet the needs of its discerning clientele The center is surrounded by the prestigious gated golf course residential community of Terravita and average household income within a 15-minute drive of the property is in excess of $200,000 Among Terravita’s flagship tenants include First Watch Matt Okmin and Jason Bowles of Whitestone represented the company in the lease process For Whitestone REIT – InvestorsDavid Mordy(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com For Whitestone REIT – Media:Matthew ChudobaWhitestonePR@icrinc.com Local entrepreneur now operating three Academy locations in New York QUEENS, N.Y., March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Emily Zaghi, owner of Kiddie Academy® of Floral Park is the new owner and operator of Kiddie Academy of Whitestone and Kiddie Academy of Flushing having acquired the franchise locations in October 2024 upon the previous owner's retirement focused on customizing each Academy to meet the needs of its respective community "I truly believe in the importance of having high-quality educational child care available to all working families which was why I purchased Kiddie Academy of Floral Park in 2023," said Zaghi "When the opportunity presented itself to become a multi-unit Kiddie Academy owner I jumped at the chance to expand our impact." the youngest of whom attends Kiddie Academy and is also a certified public accountant (CPA) who previously worked in asset management tax Her passion for childhood development combined with her business savvy led her to discover a career in early childhood education franchise ownership it's important to Zaghi to work with the New York City Department of Education and local school districts to facilitate and offer before- and after-school care as well as accepting vouchers for some children attending her Kiddie Academy locations "Having been born and raised in Great Neck I know Long Island and Queens well and am enthusiastic about being involved with and giving back to these communities," added Zaghi Kiddie Academy of Whitestone is a three-level facility with a spacious indoor play space located at 705 152nd Street Kiddie Academy of Flushing is housed in a well-maintained building just over 10 years old located at 33-25 Parsons Boulevard Zaghi serves a combined 600 children and employs 155 educators For more information, visit kiddieacademy.com Media Contact:Taylor Castillejo, APRTombras[email protected]865.257.0026 Kiddie Academy® Educational Child Care franchise locations nationwide are participating in an Earth Day art contest Navy veterans and Boise residents Jeremy and Claire Wilson have assumed ownership of Kiddie Academy® of Meridian Education Retail Children The Whitestone Board Has Summarily Rejected and Refused to Engage Regarding MCB's Improved $15.00 per Share All-Cash Proposal which would Deliver a 14.5% Premium to Whitestone Shareholders MCB Urges the Whitestone Board and Management Team to Cease their Entrenchment Tactics and Answer Shareholders' Questions MCB Calls on Whitestone Shareholders to Make their Voices Heard Visit www.MaximizingWhitestoneValue.com for More Information BALTIMORE, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- MCB Real Estate ("MCB"), a leading commercial real estate developer and investment management firm with a diverse nationwide portfolio and approximately $3 billion in AUM, today issued the following statement regarding its proposal to acquire Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) ("Whitestone") for $15.00 per share in cash: MCB stands ready to deliver immediate and certain value to Whitestone shareholders Our proposal is compelling by all reasonable metrics reflecting a 14.5% premium to Whitestone's share price prior to our initial proposal on June 3 Despite an attractive proposal and our repeated attempts to engage over the last several months the Whitestone Board has steadfastly refused to seriously consider our all-cash proposal Whitestone has conveniently chosen a time period of total shareholder return that includes multiple acquisition rumors and proposals as well as MCB acquiring 4,690,000 shares on the open market when current Whitestone management took over the day prior to the rumored Fortress proposal Whitestone delivered total shareholder returns of 0.1% Whitestone has delivered total shareholder returns of 57.7% MCB's acquisition of shares starting on May 7 We have heard from other shareholders that they are supportive of a potential transaction and share our frustration with the Whitestone Board or commence a strategic alternatives process is not consistent with its duties and indicates that the Board is entrenched and MCB encourages Whitestone to address the following questions on its earnings call this morning so that shareholders can have all the facts regarding Whitestone's refusal to engage or present a compelling path to maximize shareholder value as a public company Whitestone Third Quarter 2024 Conference Call Details MCB urges Whitestone shareholders to join Whitestone's Third Quarter 2024 earnings conference call to listen to the Whitestone management team's responses to these and other questions will join the call and attempt to ask a question but based on Whitestone's refusal to engage to date and is therefore calling on others in the investment community to demand the answers shareholders deserve Dial-in number for domestic participants: 1-877-407-0784 Dial-in number for international participants: 1-201-689-8560 Passcode: 13742564 A live webcast of Whitestone's conference call can be accessed at https://ir.whitestonereit.com/corporate-profile/ Andrew Siegel / Lucas Pers / Lyle Weston Joele Frank Residential Real Estate Construction on two new non-tolled frontage roads is expected to being this summer between Whitestone Boulevard and Avery Ranch Boulevard Whitestone ranch at 406 Whitestone Lake Rd Whitestone Ranch located at 406 Whitestone Lake Rd Whitestone Ranch resort opened in the Municipality of Whitestone The first luxury ranch-style resort in Eastern Canada has opened near Parry Sound Whitestone Ranch resort is now open in Whitestone two-and-a-half hours north of Toronto near Muskoka Here is what the owners said about the site in a news release This 33-acre waterfront resort — at 406 Whitestone Lake Rd. where the former Whitestone Resort was located — is described as the first of its kind in Eastern Canada in a news release about its opening offers 14 cabin-style rooms with king-sized beds A post shared by Whitestone Ranch (@whitestone__ranch) This waterfront property features a private beach The resort has a private chef who prepares meals using local products There is also the opportunity for canoe and kayak adventures gym and a tennis court opening in the summer of 2025 A post shared by Whitestone Ranch (@whitestone__ranch) Whitestone Ranch is collaborating with Clase Azul tequila this summer to provide an exclusive “Rodeo Experience.” “The ranch is on track to become a top Canadian summer destination by offering premium private club experiences and forming brand partnerships like this one,” reads a Whitestone Ranch release “Visitors can expect a courtside sip and swing on the tennis courts and a decked-out private beach with Western-style towels and chic umbrellas.” A post shared by Whitestone Ranch (@whitestone__ranch) The resort is exclusively booked as the whole property and can host large gatherings The cost for a full ranch booking starts at $3,495 per night Guests can buy all-inclusive packages which offer all meals and beverage pairings as well as transportation and spa services More information can be found at the Whitestone Ranch website Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account Marks second agreement Whitestone has executed with the rapidly growing Innovative amenities and affordable fitness options support Whitestone’s community-oriented and customer-first mission EoS Fitness will open an approximate 40,000-square-foot location at Whitestone’s Windsor Park Center in San Antonio marking the second lease agreement the Company has executed with the leading national gym chain EoS Fitness recently joined the tenant mix at Whitestone’s Williams Trace Plaza in Sugar Land With more than 175 locations open or on the way EoS Fitness is a leader in the fitness industry offering an inclusive and welcoming environment for exercise practitioners of every level a variety of high-energy group fitness classes and innovative recovery options where members can focus on improving their overall wellbeing and achieving their fitness goals repeat foot traffic and is heavily embedded with the communities in which it operates “Whitestone enjoys a strong sense of connection with the neighborhoods we serve and it is deeply important to us that we bring in brands like EoS Fitness that align with our community-oriented and customer-first mission,” stated Christine Mastandrea “We truly believe that is the reason our customers continue frequenting our centers and why we stand out among today’s most exciting and forward-thinking retailers and restaurants This unique approach has proven highly effective at creating sustained value for all of our stakeholders.” 51,530-square-foot facility at Williams Trace Plaza in September 2024 EoS Fitness has boosted customer traffic by 60% reflecting the strong and loyal following the in-demand gym chain attracts Whitestone expects EoS Fitness to have a similar impact on foot traffic at Windsor Park Center when it opens in 2026 “We have worked hard to remerchandise our centers over the last few quarters in order to drive Same Store NOI Growth provide our communities with better optionality and increase shareholder value,” said Dave Holeman “We continue to feel strongly that differentiated food and fitness concepts drive significant levels of repeat customer traffic and sales and will look to these categories as we work diligently to make additional anchor upgrades throughout our portfolio.” EoS Fitness is a synergistic addition to the retail lineups at both Windsor Park Center and Williams Trace Plaza The full-service gym is among a host of new retailers that have recently opened at Williams Trace These new additions have boosted Net Operating Income (NOI) at the center by 30% from Q3 2022 which the Company expects to grow even higher in 2025 once it leases out a new pad site it is developing along heavily-traveled Williams Trace Boulevard For Whitestone REIT – InvestorsDavid Mordy(713) 435-2219ir@whitestonereit.com For Whitestone REIT – Media:Matthew ChudobaWhitestonePR@icrinc.com For EoS Fitness – Media:Melissa Rue(208) 850-5939mkr@nstpr.com The acquisition of the 189-key is the company’s 14th purchase in 24 months acquired the 189-key Westin Great Southern Hotel in Columbus in an all-cash deal—its 14th purchase in 24 months and first in downtown Columbus The company selected ZMC Hotels to manage the property Whitestone Cos "While we've acquired many assets nationwide this one is especially meaningful as it's in our hometown," Batra said "We're excited to add this historic property to our portfolio." is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Originally the Great Southern Fireproof Building and Opera House it has hosted figures including Presidents William McKinley "When you step into the two-story marble lobby you feel a century of history around you," said Batra "You see the craftsmanship that built it They don’t make them like this anymore." The hotel offers more than 10,000 square feet of event space said investors and designers value projects like this "While different from our traditional value-add offerings this project blends restoring a historic asset and enhancing the guest experience," he said In December Whitestone acquired the 144-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Minneapolis-Mall of America 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) (“Whitestone” or the “Company”) today announced its operating and financial results for the third quarter of 2024 “Whitestone delivered a very strong quarter delivering 4.6% Same Store Net Operating Income growth GAAP leasing spreads of 25.3% and occupancy of 94.1% We raised our SS NOI guidance by 75 basis points on the bottom end and 25 basis points on the top end and are now estimating SS NOI growth in the 3.75 – 4.75% range We continued to strengthen our balance sheet improving our Debt to EBITDAre ratio by 0.8 turns sequentially from the second quarter to 7.2 times and further laddered our debt maturities and fixing interest rates through the entry into a new $20 million term loan in October due in 2028 with a fixed interest rate of 5.2% The proceeds from the new term loan were used to pay down our floating rate line of credit The leasing environment in our markets remains robust extending our streak of 10 consecutive quarters with leasing spreads of 17% or greater Our curated portfolio in some of the fastest growing markets in the U.S provides clear visibility on continued earnings growth to enhance shareholder value We are reiterating our 2024 Core FFO per share guidance which provides for 11% year-over-year growth at the midpoint.” Third Quarter 2024 Operating and Financial ResultsAll per share amounts are on a diluted per common share and operating partnership (“OP”) unit basis unless stated otherwise.Reconciliations of Net Income Attributable to Whitestone REIT to FFO For the three-month periods ending September 30 the Company declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.12375 per common share and OP unit for the fourth quarter of 2024 to be paid in three equal installments of $0.04125 in October The Company has updated its 2024 full-year guidance for net income attributable to Whitestone REIT the gain on sale of properties to include the impact of the gain recognized on the sale of Mercado at Scottsdale Ranch and Fountain Hills Plaza interest expense expectations partially related to timing differences of property sales and acquisitions Whitestone wholly owned 55 Community-Centered Properties™ with 4.9 million square feet of gross leasable area (“GLA”) Five of the 55 Community-Centered Properties™ are land parcels held for future development Whitestone’s Community-Centered Properties™ are located in the MSA's of Austin (6) The Company also owned an 81.4% equity interest in eight properties containing 0.9 million square feet of GLA through its investment in Pillarstone OP the Company exercised its notice of redemption for substantially all of its investment in Pillarstone OP our ownership in Pillarstone OP no longer represents a majority interest the Company’s diversified tenant base was comprised of 1,466 tenants with the largest tenant accounting for only 2.1% of annualized base rental revenues No single tenant exceeded 2.1% of total revenue the Company invites you to listen to its earnings release conference call to be broadcast live on Thursday The third quarter earnings release and supplemental data package will be located in the “News and Events” and “Financial Reporting” tabs of the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.whitestonereit.com including discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations statements related to our expectations regarding the performance of our business including the potential impact of public health emergencies on our tenants’ ability to pay their rent acquisitions or other uses on attractive terms or at all the ultimate amount we will collect in connection with the redemption of our equity investment in Pillarstone Capital REIT Operating Partnership LP (“Pillarstone” or “Pillarstone OP.”); and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time  FFO and Core FFO do not reflect working capital changes which we define as total debt net of insurance financing less cash plus our proportional share of net debt of real estate partnership This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Aug 27, 2024 | , As Milagros Noa walked down school hallways as a lead custodian at Leander ISD she dreamt of the day she would once again teach in a classroom Noa will teach Dual Language Kindergarten at Whitestone Elementary School “I started as a teacher in Peru,” Noa said “I worked in special education and speech therapy Noa took English classes and enrolled in college courses she accepted an instructional assistant position at Whitestone That was the push she needed to pursue her teaching certification With the support from other teachers at Whitestone Noa remained motivated to reach her goals.  ‘Can I try?’ people always said yes.”  Noa has experienced the #1LISD family firsthand.  “All around me are professional and respectful people Noa welcomed her first students in years to her dual-language kindergarten classroom Her team at Whitestone is elated that she is on the teaching staff.  “Milagros has a heart for children and is dedicated to our Whitestone students,” Jackson said “She is a wonderful addition to our teaching staff and brings a passion for students to our campus.” her own educational journey is far from over.  “My dream is to study for my master’s,” she said I will work every day to get there.”  The official Leander ISD Instagram account | #1LISD Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " winona@winonaladuke.com There’s not really a word for reconciliation To talk about reconciliation in terms of the relationship between Indigenous people and North Dakota would assume that there was a good relationship to begin with There is a word for making it right: gwayakochigemin It’s a long ride to Whitestone Hill from Crow Creek but the memory and story needs to be told and retold and singers share their songs with the spirits and the riders The ride is full of young people (twenty or more who are teenagers) Jimmy Hallum from Santee is one of the leaders and he tells us the story of Whitestone Hill each day Myron Johnson and Volney Fasthorse join him the state of North Dakota changed the name of the Whitestone Hill memorial from a battlefield to a massacre site That’s the question of how you make it right Riding on horseback 200 or so miles through Dakota Territory eastern South Dakota and across the border to Forbes North Dakota one can see a lot: fields of GMO corn for ethanol plants plans for a carbon sequestration pipeline and shrinking towns This is the fifth year of the ride and we are remembered after all that “progress,” than the 50 million buffalo and 250 species of prairie grass that were once here That’s the kind of question one asks on the ride Lakota and allies annually ride the Whitestone Hill Memorial ride We remember and try to heal from one of the worst massacres to occur on the northern plains It’s a massacre that is never spoken of or acknowledged in North Dakota history but it is a story well remembered by Lakota and Dakota whose ancestors perished and then scattered to the reservations to mourn console grief and try and piece together a life again The Dakota knew this place like the back of their hands as many times before the massacre they had gathered there for hunting and harvesting It’s said that this is a place where the White Buffalo Calf Woman came to give instructions a lake ravine and more made it a perfect hunting camp the 12 inch by 12 inch sign says Whitestone Hill you must know where you are going.) The “monument” is a soldier with a bugle atop the hill It has been called a battlefield by those who write history Heavily armed battalions from Iowa and Nebraska shot into pieces hundreds of Dakotas and Lakotas who were camped with the last remaining buffalo herds mourning their losses from the 1862 hanging of 38 Dakota in Mankato Having chased the Dakota across the vast expanse of prairie in brutal wars General Alfred Sully's troops attacked a hunting camp of 600 lodges with one company of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry and the Second Nebraska Cavalry under Colonel Robert Furnas As George Belden reports in his eyewitness account the order from General Sully was to hold the Indians in check until they could finish his council with Chiefs Two Bears and Little Soldiers the Iowa Captain Bayne “stepped out in front of the men and said ‘“Boys we have come a long way to fight Indians and now that we have found them the men made a call to move forward and Captain Bayne said “...Each man pick his Indian…there was no word of fire but every soldier leveled his carbine The Indians were seen raising their hands like they wanted to shake hands They were bringing a flag… (that) flag was about him as he fell….” Once the shooting started, the Cavalry went after those who were fleeing. “Sully ordered Colonel Furnas, commanding the Second Nebraska Cavalry, forward at full speed to cut off the Indians' retreat,” reports an account published by The State Historical Society of North Dakota Major House and the artillery battery charged toward the center of the village “Although the Indians scattered in as many directions as possible most tried to escape down the ravine,” the State Historical Society of North Dakota continues “As the Indians came to a saucer-like broadening of the ravine about one-half mile from the village There they were surrounded by Colonel Furna's cavalry and Colonel Wilson's Sixth Iowa troops […] Furnas ordered his men to dismount and advance toward the ravine on foot When his men were within a few hundred yards “…The light of the following day revealed a field of carnage,” according to The State Historical Society of North Dakota account and children lay in the campsite and in the ravine Tipis stood vacant or drooped in various stages of destruction […]personal items and injured or dying horses and dogs littered the ground Injured women protected babies and the little children As the soldiers looked after the wounded and gathered the dead While some squads of soldiers patrolled the region searching for escapees other men were put to work digging graves and destroying the village and Indian possessions.”  military patrols guarded while troops destroyed Indian property,” the report continues and perhaps as much as half a million pounds of buffalo meat were stacked and burned… Troops threw pots and other things that would sink into the lake...” Seven hundred horses were killed or captured They were looking forward to the gathering songs and the buffalo hunt which would feed their families There must have been laughter and gratitude for the young girls violated and the men who used their bodies as shields so that others could flee,” instructs Jimmy Hallum forty or fifty riders ride at full speed up the hill This is a way of healing; we do our part to begin North Dakota should come clean on history and begin to make it right Minnesota returned 1280 acres —about two square miles of land —to the Dakota including what’s known as the Upper Sioux Agency That’s where annuities were withheld by Andrew Myrick That act resulted in the starvation and death among Dakota people leading to the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 the mass execution in Mankato the same year the internment of Dakota families at Fort Snelling that winter and Dakota exile from the state our Dakota and Ojibwe brothers and sisters know when there’s an official treaty signing or official documents that almost always ended in sorrow and tears for your community,” Governor Walz said at the March ceremony commemorating the transfer of the land “Today is not that day…what we're here to do: to return this land to the original caretakers.” “We are honored to be part of doing the right thing for the Dakota people but also doing the right thing for the state of Minnesota,” said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Sarah Strommen what we’re talking about here,” Upper Sioux Tribal Chairman Kevin Jensvold told MPR News “None of us were here back then to participate in the wrongs that happened but we’re here today helping to make it right,” the Whitestone Hill monument should be scrapped and the Iowa and Nebraska officers should be tried for War Crimes And we will pray and ride for those who cannot By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests… By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders There’s a silent art auction with music by Low Standards and DJ Star IV By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIt’s no secret that there are folks among us who make our communities a more vibrant place through both their actions and means of creative expression you could be one of them yourself.… By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhat age has been determined to be the worst in world history?Historians have estimated about one third of the population of Europe died of the bubonic plague By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved… Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think… By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Anchored by the dependable Florence Pugh “Thunderbolts*” easily tops “Captain America: Brave New World” to make it the most satisfying MCU movie of 2025 — so far By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul I remember the first day I met Modern Man He wanted to write about this legendary… By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN connecting to my culture through food is essential and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the… By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com I remember when I was young One morning I was not feeling well because of my period I went back to bed and it was hard to get up… By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…