Equity Residential Closes on Premier New York City Assets; Adds 1,325 Apartment Units on Manhattan's Upper West Side

Business Wire, Nov 3, 2005

CHICAGO -- Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) today announced that the company has closed on its previously announced acquisition of three high-rise apartment towers, known as Trump Place, located at 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The purchase price, after closing adjustments, was approximately $809 million.

Trump Place, located in one of the premier residential areas of New York City, features magnificent views of the Hudson River and city skyline as well as easy access to restaurants, cultural institutions and other lifestyle amenities.

The properties were constructed between 1998 and 2003 and consist of 1,325 apartment units totaling approximately 1.06 million square feet, approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space and 424 parking spaces. The purchase price equates to approximately $580,000 per apartment unit and $723 per square foot of rentable apartment space. The company anticipates that the initial capitalization rate on this acquisition, based on 2006 projections, will be 4.5 percent.

"We are excited to have been able to execute on the opportunity to add properties of this quality, at a substantial discount to replacement cost, to our New York metro area portfolio, which now consists of over 5,000 apartment units," said Bruce W. Duncan, Equity Residential's CEO.

This transaction was part of a larger transaction in which The Carlyle Group and Extell Development Company simultaneously purchased a large tract of developable land directly to the south of Trump Place from a consortium of Hong Kong investors and Donald J. Trump.

"The potential for these assets is tremendous," said David J. Neithercut, Equity Residential's President. "We intend to operate all three buildings as rental properties while keeping our eye on the opportunities that arise."

The acquisition is being financed primarily through the proceeds of asset sales as well as the company's $1.6 billion credit facilities.

Forward Looking Statements

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions made by management. While Equity Residential's management believes the assumptions underlying its forward-looking statements are reasonable, such information is subject to uncertainties and may involve certain risks, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond management's control. As such, these statements are not guarantees of future performance, results or events. Equity Residential assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

Equity Residential, an S&P 500 company, is the largest publicly traded apartment company in America. Nationwide, Equity Residential owns or has investments in 922 properties in 32 states and the District of Columbia, consisting of 195,575 units. For more information on Equity Residential, please visit our website at www.equityresidential.com.