HOUSTON, May 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT today announced that its “helpful hardware folks” tenant, Paul’s Ace Hardware, renewed its lease for 10 years and is expanding its square footage at Whitestone’s Fountain Hills Plaza property in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
Paul’s Ace Hardware is expanding its store by approximately 4,000 square feet — from 26,287 square feet to 30,646 square feet — transforming it into one of the largest Ace stores in the Phoenix Metro Area.
The renewal and expansion of this well-known retail brand and recently announced new leases in Fountain Hills Plaza supports the quality of cash flows to Whitestone’s shareholders and helps guarantee the long-term security of the property. Paul’s Ace Hardware is joined by Fountain Hills Plaza’s curated mix of other tenants, including AutoZone, Bashas’ grocery store, Great Clips, H&R Block, and Verizon Wireless, who provide essential goods and services to the local community.
“Fountain Hills Plaza continues to be an essential staple destination for its surrounding communities, providing its area neighborhoods with a well-rounded mix of eCommerce-resistant entrepreneurial providers of essential goods and services. The 18-hour, 24/7 traffic patterns, the quality of our properties and the relationships we have with the surrounding communities we serve, in turn, helps attract a diverse array of quality tenants who want to benefit from being in our centers,” said Chairman and CEO Jim Mastandrea. “Whitestone’s business model of institutional-quality, open-air, lifestyle-focused properties that attract customers throughout the day and evening is consistent throughout our portfolio. This creates enhanced quality of life and convenience for our surrounding communities and institutional value for our shareholders on a tenant-by-tenant basis.”
About Paul’s Ace Hardware
Paul’s Ace Hardware was founded by Paul Dauwalder in 1956. It has been in Fountain Hills since 1973 and has relocated and expanded over the years to serve the growing community. Today, Julie Buchowski (Paul’s granddaughter) is acting President of the company and oversees the operations of the company’s eight stores in Arizona, seven of which are in the Phoenix Metro Area.
Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with more than 5,400 locally owned and operated hardware stores, including Paul’s Ace Hardware, in approximately 70 countries. For more information, visit acehardware.com or www.newsroom.acehardware.com.
About Whitestone REIT
Whitestone is a community-centered shopping center REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops, and redevelops high-quality neighborhood centers primarily in the largest, fastest-growing and most affluent markets in the Sunbelt.
Whitestone seeks to create Communities That Thrive through Creating Local Connections between consumers in the surrounding communities and a well-crafted mix of local, regional and national tenants that provide daily necessities, needed services, entertainment, and experiences.
Whitestone (NYSE: WSR) pays monthly dividends to its shareholders and it has consistently done so for more than 15 years. Whitestone’s strong balanced and managed capital structure provides stability and flexibility for growth and positions Whitestone to perform well through economic cycles. For additional information, please visit www.whitestonereit.com.
| Investor Contact: | Media Contact: |
| Kevin Reed | Rebecca Elliott |
| Director of Investor Relations | Vice President, Corporate Communications |
| Whitestone REIT | Whitestone REIT |
| (713) 435-2219 | (713) 435-2228 |
| ir@whitestonereit.com | ir@whitestonereit.com |
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f139183-4eb1-4643-a28b-3851f2dabdd4