Associated Estates Acquires Historic Wilshire Boulevard Property

PR Newswire

Associated Estates Realty Corporation (NYSE, NASDAQ: AEC) today announced that it will expand to Southern California by building apartments on Wilshire Boulevard in the highly desirable Miracle Mile submarket of Los Angeles.

Associated Estates purchased the historic Desmond's Tower at 5500 Wilshire Blvd. and the adjacent parking lot.  The acquired property comprises 2.21 acres with the parking lot area being entitled for apartments.  Associated Estates plans to build up to 175 apartments and structured parking.  Desmond's Tower is a 78,800 square foot office and retail building that has several tenants, including the internationally acclaimed Ace Gallery.

The apartments will be known as The Desmond on Wilshire and construction is expected to begin spring of 2013.  Merit Enterprises, Inc. ("Merit"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated Estates, will act as construction manager.

"The Desmond is an exceptional opportunity and a terrific way to develop our first Southern Californiaapartment property in a highly sought after location on Wilshire Blvd.," said Jason Friedman, Vice President of Construction and Development.  "We are excited about expanding into this market," Friedman added.

The Desmond on Wilshire will be located in one of Los Angeles' most coveted and historic neighborhoods with close proximity to many large employers and to the city's most exclusive and vibrant residential communities including Beverly Hills, Hancock Park and West Hollywood.  Miracle Mile offers excellent walkability to upscale retail, dining, museums and mass transit, as well as easy accessibility to major interstates including the 10, 405, 101, and 110 Freeways.  Desmond's Tower was not listed for sale.

Associated Estates is a real estate investment trust ("REIT") and is a member of the Russell 2000 and the MSCI US REIT Indices.  The Company is headquartered in Richmond Heights, Ohio.  Associated Estates' portfolio consists of 52 properties containing 13,388 units located in eight states.  For more information about the Company, please visit its website here.

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