HOUSTON, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weingarten Realty Investors announced today that J. Murry Bowden, Founder / Chairman / Chief Executive Officer of the Hanover Company, has submitted his letter of resignation to the Weingarten board of trust managers effective October 31, 2006. Mr. Bowden joined the board in 2003.
His resignation letter states, "As real estate development moves towards more mixed use projects, I am confident that there will be opportunities for Weingarten and The Hanover Company to jointly develop such future projects. Therefore, to avoid any conflicts of interest, I have, with great regret, concluded that I should resign from the board at this time. I have the greatest respect for the trust managers, senior management and associates of WRI. It is an outstanding company with the highest ethical standards. This move enables our companies to work together on projects of mutual interest. I will be of much greater value to both Weingarten and my company in this capacity."
Weingarten Chairman, Stanford Alexander, stated, "My associates and I understand and appreciate Murry's decision as we look forward to working with Murry and his creative team at an operational level when studying and developing mixed use projects. All of us at WRI have great respect for Murry and the Hanover Company and his resignation enables both companies to freely utilize the unique talents of each company in mutually advantageous endeavors. I, along with the other board members, greatly appreciate the many valuable contributions that Murry has made to Weingarten Realty during his three years as board member. His real estate expertise and wise counsel as a board member will be sorely missed. However, I personally view Murry's decision as just changing roles in his ongoing wonderful relationship with WRI."
The Hanover Company, http://www.hanoverco.com/ , is a privately held, nationally focused, real estate development company. It develops garden, mid- rise, and high-rise apartment projects. The Hanover Company is based in Houston, Texas.
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 21 states that span the southern portion of the United States from coast to coast. The Company's portfolio of 373 properties includes 309 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 64 industrial properties, aggregating 47.5 million square feet. Weingarten has one of the most diversified tenant bases of any major REIT in its sector, with the largest of its 5,400 tenants comprising approximately 3% of its rental revenues. To learn more about the Company's operations and growth strategies, please visit http://www.weingarten.com/ .
