Education Realty Trust Announces On-Campus Investment At Syracuse University


MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EDR), a nationwide leader in the ownership, development and management of student housing, today announced that the Company will own new housing to be built on the campus of Syracuse University. This is the first investment of a major program the Company has created to build and acquire housing facilities located directly on university campuses across the country.

"We are extremely pleased to initiate our private on-campus investment program at Syracuse University, a strong educational institution with a rich and deep history. On-campus development utilizing the shareholder capital entrusted to us is very much a priority. Opportunities to invest in facilities on-campus are becoming more plentiful and provide an attractive investment for our shareholders. We intend to continue to use our nationwide, on-campus experience and relationships to further expand our on-campus private investment business," commented Paul Bower, CEO of Education Realty Trust.

"Universities are turning to private investment in order to achieve new housing that is financed off their balance sheet. The use of private equity and debt positively impacts a university's borrowing capacity; thereby, leaving the institutions' credit available to finance academic buildings rather than housing," added Mr. Bower.

Allen & O'Hara Development Co., the real estate development subsidiary of Education Realty Trust, has been a leader in third-party, on-campus development, having completed $1.3 billion of on-campus development since 2000.

The new housing, located on Syracuse's South Campus, will have 130 units, providing accommodations for 432 students. The units will be configured to contain 2 and 4 private bedrooms with private bathrooms for each student. The fully furnished apartment units will include a living room, dining area and a full kitchen. The new community will include a clubhouse building containing extensive academic and recreational amenities. There will also be on-site parking and a pick-up/drop-off site at the clubhouse for the campus bus system.

Education Realty will own and manage the residential community under a long-term Ground Lease from Syracuse University. Construction costs will be approximately $28 million, and the building is expected to be ready for occupancy for the 2009-2010 school year.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a premier institution of higher education located in Syracuse, NY, dedicated to faculty excellence and scholarly distinction, attracting and supporting enrollment of 19,084 students.

About Education Realty Trust

Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EDR) is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops and manages high-quality student housing communities throughout the United States. Led by a team with over 200 years of shared industry experience, EDR is one of America's largest owners and operators of collegiate student housing. The Company has ownership and management interests in 69 properties with 41,329 beds in a total of 21 states. For more information please visit the company's Web site at www.educationrealty.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements about the Company's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations. You should not rely on our forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's future results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks are set forth under the captions "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our annual report on Form 10-K and under the caption "Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" (or similar captions) in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and as described in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and EDR undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.



            

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