In the News

Morningstar Acquires the Boathouse at Golden Isles

Reuters - 01/18/2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar Properties, LLC, in
its joint venture with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital (HSRE), announces
that it has acquired the Golden Isles Marina located in St. Simons, Georgia.
Morningstar Marinas-Golden Isles joins a group of premier marine
properties owned and operated by the company throughout the mid-Atlantic and
southeastern United States. Ranging from the Chesapeake Bay south to the
Golden Isles, Morningstar Marinas serve some of the best inland and coastal
boating locales in the East. The Golden Isles Marina acquisition is the
fourth marina joint venture between Morningstar and Harrison Street. Golden
Isles Marina and its neighbor the Boathouse at Golden Isles, another
Morningstar Marina, are located on adjoining parcels and will be combined into
one facility.
"We are delighted to announce Golden Isles Marina as the most recent
member of the Morningstar Marinas family," said Dave Benson, President of
Morningstar. "This is an exciting chance for us to combine two exceptional
marinas, expand our presence in Georgia and to partner with Harrison Street on
a marina transaction."
"The Golden Isles and the surrounding southeast coastal Georgia area is a
burgeoning boating market and this property enables us to improve our position
to serve the recreational needs in the region," Benson continues. "With this
acquisition, we have united the two best marinas in the market. We know that
recreational time is valuable. Morningstar Marinas-Golden Isles will give our
customers convenient and open access to a great experience. Our goal is for
them to be able to spend their boating time in their boats, not in endless
preparation and maintenance."
With the addition of Golden Isles Marina, Morningstar owns and operates
over 2,800 dry and wet berths covering four states in the Southeast. The
Company plans to continue to acquire, develop and redevelop marina properties
from Maryland to Florida.
Harrison Street Principal, Robert Mathias, said, "We are looking forward
to growing our relationship with Morningstar. With the success of our self-
storage venture, it was a natural extension to migrate with them into an
additional asset class. The marina industry fits with our strategy of
investing in specialty asset classes with their own unique demand drivers."
During the next three years, the venture anticipates to develop and
acquire self-storage and marina properties with a portfolio of assets valued
at over $200 million.
About Morningstar Properties, LLC
Morningstar Properties is a vertically integrated real estate developer,
general contractor, and operator headquartered in Matthews, NC. For over
twenty-five years, Morningstar has developed, built, and operated a portfolio
of high-end personal, commercial and recreational storage facilities across
the southeast. For additional information, visit www.mstarproperties.com.
About Harrison Street Real Estate Capital
HSRE's model is to provide equity capital at the property level to
developers and operators in the specialty sectors of the real estate market.
Since its founding the firm has acquired or has under development 72
properties worth over $850 million throughout 23 states in U.S. The portfolio
includes over 2,000 senior housing units, over 22,500 storage units, over
4,000 student housing beds, over 1,521 marina berths, and approximately
272,000 square feet of medical office space. The firm's inaugural Fund,
Harrison Street Real Estate Partners I, LP was closed in May of 2007 with
$208.5 million in equity commitments. This real estate fund is 96% invested
and will have buying power of over $900 million. Investors in the fund include
some of the largest family offices in the U.S. as well as endowments,
foundations, pension funds, insurance companies and foreign investors. For
more information, visit www.harrisonst.com.