Lennar and LNR Venture Acquires El Toro Marine Corps Air Station; Ceremony Slated for this Evening During Irvine City Council Meeting

Business Wire, July 12, 2005

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. -- In what is widely recognized as a major milestone in Orange County's history, today marks the official change of ownership of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine, Calif.

Today, Heritage Fields LLC, a joint venture among Lennar Homes of California, Inc., LNR Property Corporation and real estate investment funds sponsored by Rockpoint Group, L.L.C., Blackacre Institutional Capital Management, LLC and MSD Capital, L.P. is expected to officially close escrow on all 3,724 acres of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, thereby commencing the long-awaited effort to transform a portion of the base into the Orange County Great Park.

"Today marks a major milestone in the conversion of this historic property to reflect the vision of the community, and we are proud to shepherd this vision forward," said Emile Haddad, President of Lennar's California region, one of the nation's largest home building and community development companies. "We are looking forward to working with the City of Irvine, the Great Park Corporation and the community leadership to create a legacy for generations to come."

On February 17, 2005, Heritage Fields LLC placed the final combined winning bid of approximately $650 million for all four parcels of the former military base during an online auction conducted by the United States Department of the Navy. Proceeds from the sale of the property will be used by the Navy to complete its environmental cleanup of El Toro as well as other military bases.

The closing of the transaction will be acknowledged during a brief ceremony conducted this evening at a regular meeting of the Irvine City Council, slated to commence at 4 p.m. at Irvine City Hall located at 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606. During the ceremony, Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and the members of the Irvine City Council will recognize the official name change of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to Heritage Fields, envisioned to encompass a blend of new residential neighborhoods and complementary uses such as retail, golf, R&D, schools and a learning village, and 1,375 acres of public land including the creation of the Orange County Great Park.

In addition, representatives of Heritage Fields LLC will present the City of Irvine with a check for $33.3 million, the first installment of $200 million in development fees, payable over the next two years under the Development Agreement to be signed today between the City of Irvine and Heritage Fields LLC.

"We anticipate a true public/private partnership approach to making the Great Park vision a reality," said David Team, president of LNR Commercial Property Group. "By acquiring all four parcels, we will be able to act in a master developer capacity, as we have in other base reuse programs. We are confident that our base reuse experience will greatly assist us in implementing the Great Park vision in union with the City of Irvine, the Great Park Corporation and all community stakeholders."

Lennar is one of the nation's leading builders of new communities and homes. Lennar, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the largest public community development and home building entities in the United States and one of the largest home builders in California. The western headquarters of Lennar is situated in Aliso Viejo, Calif.

LNR has been engaged in the development, ownership and management of commercial land, office, industrial, retail and multi-family properties nationwide since 1969. Through October 1997, LNR operated as the commercial development and investment division of Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), one of the largest home builders in the United States. In 1997, LNR spun off from Lennar Corporation to become a separate public company (NYSE: LNR) focused on commercial real estate investment and development. In 2005, LNR was acquired by LNR Property Holdings Ltd., which is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.; its real estate affiliate Blackacre Capital Management, LLC; Stuart Miller, the former Chairman of the Board of LNR; and senior members of LNR's management team. Although LNR is a distinct company from Lennar Corporation, both entities continue to work together and complement each other's interests in mixed-use communities.

Formed in 2003, Rockpoint Group, L.L.C. is a global real estate investment and management firm with offices in Boston, Dallas, San Francisco and Tokyo. Since 1994, the Rockpoint founders have invested in two Rockpoint funds and four prior funds, resulting in approximately $5 billion of equity in 192 transactions with a peak capitalization of approximately $20 billion, including various real estate assets worldwide.

Blackacre Institutional Capital Management, LLC is the real estate investment arm of Cerberus Capital Management LP, a New York-based global investment manager responsible for over $15 billion in aggregate capital. Since its inception in 1994, Blackacre has invested over $4 billion on behalf of its affiliated funds in approximately 250 distinct equity, debt and hybrid investments involving real estate assets and entities worldwide.