NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...NEWS…NEWS...

THE RIDDLE COMPANY 1220 L Street NW Suite 100-447 Washington DC 20005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Catherine Timko

202-333-6856, 202-917-4381 - pgr

Despite Volatile Market – Deal Closes in 20 Days as Applied For

Washington, DC August 8, 2002 --- Richmond-based John B. Levy & Company, Inc., arranged the financing for the 184 unit Century Oaks apartment complex in Durham North Carolina, adjacent to the Research Triangle Park. The $7.4 million loan closed in 20 days – an unheard of speed in a healthy market, even more remarkable with the capital markets as they are currently. The financing, which was approved in record time and as originally applied for, will enable the developer to put bring project back to the market sooner than initially scheduled.

The financing, provided by Transamerica Commercial Real Estate Finance, LLC includes $5.2 million, which represents 93% of the purchase price and an additional $2.25 million for rehabilitation costs over the next 18 months. The bridge financing provides both acquisition and rehabilitation money purchase price, and all of the $2.25 million for rehabilitation costs over the next 18 months. The transaction was for five years at a floating rate (currently at 7%) and a non-recourse deal.

The investor, Artcraft Development, LLC, based in Richmond, VA specializes in smaller apartment complexes that need rehabilitation and they were pleased with the flexibility the loan offered as well as the speed with which it closed.

John B. Levy & Company also arranged the financing for an 85,000 sq. ft. office building in Orlando, Florida. The $5.6 million loan (total purchase price was $7.3m) was applied for on June 11th and closed on August 2nd. The financing was at a fixed rate for ten years at 6.85%, and represents 77% of the total purchase price.

“These are two of the quickest transactions we have worked on,” commented John Levy, president, John B. Levy & Company. “We are pleased to have been able to arrange financing for these individual projects and that prove to be an ideal solution for the respective developer, particularly in consideration of each property’s sub-market conditions and the extreme volatility in the capital markets.” The Orlando office market has a vacancy rate exceeding 16%; likewise the residential rental market in Durham is fairly soft with a vacancy rate of 15%, noted Levy.

John B. Levy & Company is reputed for their ability to apply innovative solutions to a variety of real estate projects in a range of markets. During the past year, John B. Levy & Company has raised over $150 million in equity and debt financing for businesses in the metropolitan area alone. Representative transactions include: $120 million in re-financing for a group of six Northern Virginia office buildings, a $12 million data center financing for Fortress Development Company and non-recourse construction financing for an affiliate of Goldman-Sachs on a building in Columbia, MD.

John B. Levy & Company, Inc. is a real estate investment-banking firm founded in 1995 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The firm raises equity and debt for developers and owners of commercial and multi-family projects nationwide. Since inception, the firm has placed over $1 billion in financings. Despite a tumultuous economic environment over the past 90 days, the firm has successfully closed several transactions, each with its own property specific challenges. Representative transactions include: $120 million in re-financing for a cluster of office buildings in the Northeast region and an office building in Orlando, Florida, a market that has faced significant vacancies over the past 18 months. (###)