JMI REALTY AND CISTERRA PARTNERS ENTER BINDING

AGREEMENT FOR OFFICE BUILDING AT PETCO PARK
Called "Right Thing" for the District, Building Could Start Construction in Third Quarter

SAN DIEGO - JMI Realty announces that it has entered into a formal agreement with Cisterra Partners for the development of a 14-story office building on the Right Field parcel adjacent to the Outfield Park at PETCO Park.

The project, called DiamondView Tower, has been in planning under a letter of intent signed by JMI Realty and Cisterra last September. It is now moving forward based upon substantial pre-leasing that has ensured the project's ability to secure financing. The project is still subject to final city approval, but could break ground as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

"We have always focused on creating a vibrant 24/7 environment in the Ballpark District, and the integration of office space furthers that objective," said John Kratzer, president of JMI Realty, master developer of the Ballpark District. "DiamondView Tower will bring an employment element to support new retail and entertainment services, as well as blocks of new residential development that are already in place.

"Cisterra is absolutely the right partner for this undertaking," Kratzer said. "They have value engineered the project to make it economically feasible, and have worked closely with the architectural team to create a tower that aesthetically enhances the Ballpark and surrounding district. DiamondView Tower will provide a state-of-the-art business environment for companies that want the benefits of being in this very preferred location."

According to Charles Black, executive vice president with JMI Realty, "This is a real milestone for JMI Realty and the Padres. Every element of the Ballpark and its surrounding development has been carefully considered, and we all believe that the timing is right for a viable and beneficial office development on the Right Field parcel."

Kratzer said he believes that downtown San Diego has suffered from a credibility issue over the past several years. "As new office projects have been proposed and subsequently delayed, tenants have had no choice but to look elsewhere," he said. "Now, with Rob Lankford's building taking shape on Broadway, tenants are renewing their interest in a central business district location. The addition of DiamondView Tower reinforces the progress already made by the Lankford project by showing yet another strong commitment to office and providing tenants with additional space options."

The Right Field parcel was originally planned to accommodate either residential or office developments. Black said that with the strength of the downtown residential market, residential development on the Right Field parcel would be a "slam dunk." However, because JMI Realty and the Padres believe in achieving a reasonable balance between office and residential uses, they are making a substantial investment in implementing that belief.

"We have had to subsidize the price of the land to make this project viable, but we are absolutely convinced that it is our responsibility to make decisions based on what is right for the district versus what is easy or more economically rewarding," Black said. "The key element for us was to find the right development partner to make this vision reality, and we found it in Cisterra."

Steve Black, managing member of Cisterra Partners, brings a long and successful track record in the development of Southern California office buildings.

"We have studied the market carefully, and believe that an office tower in this location will help re-energize the downtown San Diego office market and provide the right balance of employment space to support the growth of the Ballpark District," he said. "We are very pleased to have secured commitments from several noteworthy tenants, and while confidentiality agreements prevent us from being able to announce them at this time, we can say that construction financing is now assured."

DiamondView Tower will offer 229,000 square feet of office space above 75,000 square feet of retail on the bottom two floors. The retail mix is planned to include a variety of lifestyle and community shops as well as a health club and possibly a restaurant.

Most of the floor plates in the tower will be approximately 17,000 square feet, with the 33,000-square-foot third floor also still available for lease.

"The lower element of the tower is being designed to complement the adjacent Candy Factory and other historical warehouse buildings in the district," said Todd Anson, Cisterra's other managing member. "The tower itself will be modern yet complimentary to the other components, resulting in a building that will be one of the premier Class A office buildings on the West Coast and one that San Diego can be proud of."

Special features of the tower include a spectacular meeting/banquet room on the 15th floor with a skybox-type view of PETCO Park and San Diego Bay, state-of-the-art technology, and a possible Hall of Fame-type exhibit on the ground floor.

The project architect for DiamondView Tower is Carrier Johnson. The leasing agent is CB Richard Ellis. Completion of the tower is expected in the second quarter of 2006. For more information, visit www.diamondviewtower.com.

JMI Realty

JMI Realty is a private real estate investment and development company that is strategically focused on quality real estate opportunities throughout Southern California, with particular emphasis on the hospitality, office and multifamily sectors. In addition to its efforts in the Ballpark District, the firm manages a real estate investment portfolio valued in excess of $300 million, and is also implementing $390 million in new development.

As Master Developer of the Ballpark District, JMI Realty is nearing completion on a 32-story mixed-use project that includes the Omni San Diego Hotel, consisting of 511 hotel guest rooms, and The Metropolitan, a 36-unit private penthouse condominium community on the top 11 floors. The hotel and condominiums are on track to open next month along with Petco Park. JMI Realty is also facilitating four city blocks of for-rent and for-sale residential housing called Island Village; and a 22-story residential tower above ground level retail and restaurant space is proposed for the Left Field parcel overlooking the Ballpark's Park at the Park.

Locally, non-downtown-area projects that JMI Realty has completed or is currently spearheading include the Del Mar Marriott Hotel in Del Mar Heights, which the company still owns, Casoleil, a 346-unit multifamily project developed by JMI Realty in South San Diego County, and Campus at Carmel Valley, a master-planned office park in Del Mar Heights that is in planning.

The JMI Realty website is www.jmirealty.com.

Cisterra Partners LLC

Cisterra Partners LLC was founded in 1999 by Steve Black and Todd Anson. Since then, the company has served as the exclusive development company for Cisco Systems for its new campus developments in Boston, Amsterdam and Ottawa. The three campus requirements total approximately 6 million square feet. Additionally, Cisterra Partners is developing a new 767,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for Biogen-Idec on Nobel Drive along I-805 in San Diego. This project, which Biogen-Idec will take occupancy of in the third quarter of this year, will prove to be an architecturally significant addition to the San Diego corporate campus landscape and set a new standard for such campuses. The Cisterra website is at www.cisterra.com.

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