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

Contact: Catherine Timko - Tele 202-333-6856

Pager 202-917-4381

Despite Volatile Market - Deals Close in Record Time

Washington, DC August 7, 2002 --- Richmond-based John B. Levy & Company, Inc., arranged and structured the financing for an 85,000 sq. ft. office building in the Winter Park, Florida located at 2699 Lee Road. 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. The Orlando regional market is rather soft with a vacancy rate hovering at 16%, which provided a challenge – and further demonstrates that financing is available for viable projects.

Additionally the firm arranged the acquisition/rehabilitation 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, made even more remarkable given the current volatile state of the capital markets. The non-recourse financing, which was approved in record time and as originally applied for, will enable the developer to efficiently transition this project from a property clearly past its prime back into the market sooner than anticipated.

"These are two of the quickest transactions we have worked on," commented John Levy, president, John B. Levy & Company. "We are pleased we were 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 a $7.4 million acquisition/ rehab loan for a multifamily project in Durham, North Carolina (closed in 20 days). (###)