Weingarten Realty Investors Names Charles Carter as Vice President/Senior Regional Director of New Development for Southeast Region

ATLANTA, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weingarten Realty Investors announced today that Charles Carter has joined the company as Vice President/Senior Regional Director of New Development for the Southeast Region.

Mr. Carter, based out of Weingarten's Atlanta, Georgia office, will oversee Weingarten's new retail development projects in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. He will be working in conjunction with Weingarten's Raleigh development team, headed by Rob Hicks, Regional Development Director. Weingarten currently has several projects underway in the Southeast Region, including:

-- South Fulton Town Center located at South Fulton Parkway and Highway 92 in Union City, Georgia. The center will be approximately 600,000 square feet at completion and is expected to break ground in the next 30-60 days. -- Ridgeway Trace located at Poplar Avenue and I-240 in Memphis, Tennessee. Site preparation has already begun for the 300,000 square foot mixed use development. -- Crabtree Creek will be located at Creedmoor Road and Crabtree Valley Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina. Plans are underway for an 800,000 square foot mixed-use development that will include retail, residential and office uses. -- Southern Pines Village, a redevelopment of an existing K-Mart store. The center is located at US Highway 15-501 and Bruce Wood Road in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The center will be converted to a multi-anchor shopping center. -- Wake Union Shopping Center, a proposed retail development, to be located in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The proposed 375,000 square foot center will be anchored by a department store and several other large anchors. Ground breaking is scheduled for Spring of 2008.

Robert Smith, Weingarten Senior Vice President and Director of New Development, said, "We are very excited to have Charles Carter join our team. Charlie brings in-depth experience and strong working relationships in the Southeast region, which is one of our key target areas for further expansion. Charlie has a successful track record in real estate development and is an excellent addition to our regional team."

Prior to joining Weingarten, Mr. Carter served as Vice President of Retail Development for Redico, LLC in Southfield, Michigan, where he was responsible for originating and developing shopping centers for their Southeast Region. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Mr. Carter is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a member of both the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Board of Commercial Realtors.

As one of the largest real estate investment trusts listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Weingarten Realty Investors is focused on delivering solid returns to shareholders by actively developing, acquiring, and intensively managing properties in 22 states that span the United States from coast to coast. The Company's portfolio of 414 properties includes 336 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 78 industrial properties, aggregating 48.8 million square feet. Weingarten has one of the most diversified tenant bases of any major REIT in its sector, with the largest of its 5,600 tenants comprising less than 3% of its rental revenues. To learn more about the Company's operations and growth strategies, please visit http://www.weingarten.com/.