FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 8, 2001	CONTACTS: Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Thomas G. Smith, 216/621-6060 Thomas T. Kmiecik, 216/621-6060 or Forest City Stapleton, Inc., Denver Tom Gleason, 303/382-1800 or On the Web www.fceinc.com www.stapletondenver.com
Forest City Starts Construction At Stapleton
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2001--Forest City Stapleton, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FCEA) and (NYSE:FCEB): · Former airport to become "Denver's next great neighborhood" · First phase includes homes, apartments and a retail center · $170 million in financing arranged to begin construction on Phase I Forest City Stapleton, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FCEA) and (NYSE:FCEB), has closed on an initial purchase of 272 acres at the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver and will begin construction on the first phase of one of the nation's most ambitious mixed-used urban communities. Ronald A. Ratner, Executive Vice President of Forest City Enterprises, Inc., commented "Stapleton is one of the most complex urban in-fill development projects in the country today and will involve three of our strategic business units: Land, Residential and Commercial. For Forest City, it is the ultimate integrated development project, capitalizing on our experience and expertise to develop large, mixed-use projects." As the master developer for Stapleton, Forest City has signed an agreement to purchase all 2,935 acres of developable land at the former airport over the next fifteen years. Stapleton will be enhanced by 1,100 acres of parks and open space now being created at the former airport. When it is fully developed in twenty years, Stapleton will have three million square feet of retail, 10 million square feet of offices and 12,000 homes and apartments, all conveniently located just minutes from Downtown Denver and Denver International Airport. "This initial purchase and the start of construction launches our development of the nation's premier new urban community," said Greg Vilkin, President of Forest City Stapleton, Inc. "One of the goals at Stapleton is to create affordable housing, for everyone from receptionists to chief executive officers. Offices, regional and local retail, schools, daycare, recreation, public transit and open space will be within a convenient, ten-minute walk from each other. Stapleton will be a community that will improve peoples' lives," Mr. Vilkin added. The first 272 acres will include approximately: · 75 acres for the 740,000-square-foot Quebec Square regional retail center -- 172 acres for 1,100 homes and apartments -- the first of the 12,000 homes and apartments that will be built in "walkable neighborhoods," and · 25 acres for a 150,000-square-foot neighborhood town center anchored by a 60,000-square-foot grocery store and an office building, complementing a 2.5 acre town green Quebec Square regional retail center is now under construction adjacent to the former airport's hotels, the newly expanded United Airlines Flight Training Center, and planned office development located around a proposed rail transit center. Earlier this year, Forest City announced it had signed Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Home Depot to be the anchor tenants at Quebec Square, a short walk from the neighborhood town center, and scheduled to open in the summer of 2002. Forest City has purchased $145 million in bonds from the Park Creek Metropolitan District to underwrite the initial infrastructure required for the redevelopment of the Stapleton property, a transaction that was financed by Lehman Brothers. Forest City has also secured a $25 million loan from National City Bank for the land purchase from the non-profit Stapleton Development Corporation, which was created by the City of Denver to oversee the sale of the former airport property. The Forest City development is guided by the nationally acclaimed Stapleton Development Plan. That plan, officially adopted by the Denver City Council in 1995, projects that the 7.5 square mile property will eventually be home to 30,000 residents and support 30,000 jobs in traditional urban neighborhoods that will enable Denver "to grow from within." Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is a NYSE-listed real estate company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, principally engaged in the ownership, development, acquisition and management of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States. The Company's portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and hotels. The Company's primary markets include Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond (Virginia), San Francisco and Washington D. C.