Bruce J. Schanzer, the President and CEO of Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (CDR), Interviews with The Wall Street Transcript

67 WALL STREET, New York - June 23, 2014 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its REITs Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs and Equity Analysts. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Apartment, Lodging, Self-Storage and Office REITs - Consolidation Activity - REIT Access to Capital - Residential and Commercial REITs - Correlation Between Macroeconomy and Real Estate - Agency Mortgage REITs - Supply and Demand Dynamics - Favorable REIT Fundamentals

Companies include: Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. (CDR) and many more.

In the following excerpt from the REITs Report, the President and CEO of Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (CDR) discusses company strategy and the outlook for this vital industry:

TWST: Why that particular property type and geographic focus? And do you see that changing at all?

Mr. Schanzer: That's a great question. There are really two reasons why we're focused on grocery-anchored shopping centers between Washington, D.C., and Boston. One is, grocery-anchored shopping - we feel - is the most stable and resilient asset type in the retail space. There's always demand from a retailer perspective to be in those types of centers. There's always an attractiveness to that type of center in terms of customers who want and need consumer nondiscretionary goods that are sold in that type of center.

In terms of the geographic footprint, in the Northeast between Washington, D.C., and Boston are very stable infill-type markets, where - again - retailers are happy to be. We like being in these kinds of markets because we have been relatively conservative in terms of how we think about allocating and managing our capital; these types of assets in this geography are consistent with that conservative overall mindset.

TWST: What's the current occupancy of your portfolio?

Mr. Schanzer: We're in the low 90s; call it 93%, 94%.

TWST: How would you describe recent leasing activity?

Mr. Schanzer: Leasing activity is pretty healthy. We have approximately 9.5 million square feet, and the occupancy will move up and down by a few basis points depending on the quarter. If you take a longer perspective, what we're seeing right now in the market is definitely a positive trend, because we're seeing a combination of several factors. One is a resurgent economy that is encouraging retailers to pursue expansion plans, and in the face of those expansion plans is the lack of new supply in new markets, which is causing retailers some consternation as they recognize that they need to get comfortable with some of the existing supply. That, in turn, plays into our hands because we're the owners - among others - of the existing shopping center supply in the market right now. Again, we see that as a positive dynamic, both from an occupancy perspective and, more importantly, from an earnings perspective.

TWST: In terms of growth, have you been an active acquirer recently? What is your growth strategy, and what are you anticipating looking ahead?

For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.