CLEVELAND, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Enterprises, Inc., (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced more than $300 million in property-level financings completed in the quarter ending January 31, 2012.

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"These completed loans illustrate two important opportunities in the current lending environment that benefit Forest City," said David J. LaRue, president and chief executive officer. "First, we're able to lock-in attractive, long-term rates that reduce interest expense and thereby improve cash flow at the property level. Second, we are able to selectively pay down loans in exchange for even more favorable rates, giving us an attractive return on the incremental capital invested and advancing our strategy of improving our balance sheet and overall debt metrics."

The financings include:


    --  Queens Place, New York City.  The company closed a 10-year, $87 million
        loan on this 455,000-square-foot, five-level retail center in the heart
        of the Borough of Queens.
    --  Nine MetroTech, New York City.  The company purchased the existing $75
        million loan at a 2.5 percent discount and then closed a new 10-year,
        $63 million loan. Nine MetroTech is a 317,000 square-foot office
        building in the MetroTech Center office campus in downtown Brooklyn.
    --  The Drake Tower, Philadelphia.  The company closed a $28 million,
        10-year loan.  The Drake Tower, formerly a luxury hotel, has 284
        apartments and luxury penthouses in center-city Philadelphia.
    --  The Mall at Robinson, Pittsburgh.  Forest City secured a $79 million,
        six-year financing on this 880,000-square-foot, two-level, enclosed
        regional retail center.
    --  Post Office Plaza (formerly the M.K. Ferguson Building), Cleveland.  The
        company closed a $15.5 million, 10-year loan on this
        476,000-square-foot, adaptive-reuse office building at the company's
        Tower City Center development in downtown Cleveland.

In total through these and other transactions in the fourth quarter, the Company refinanced $303.5 million in mortgage debt and reduced the weighted average interest rate on the in-place financings from 6.32 percent to 4.44 percent. The company's pro-rata share of the debt decreased modestly from $245.5 million to $239.1 million, and the weighted average interest rate decreased from 6.46 percent to 4.42 percent at pro rata.

About Forest City

Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is an NYSE-listed national real estate company with $10.5 billion in total assets. The company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.forestcity.net.

Safe Harbor Language

Statements made in this news release that state the company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. The company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to various risks, uncertainties and other factors. Risks and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the impact of current lending and capital market conditions on its liquidity, ability to finance or refinance projects and repay its debt, the impact of the current economic environment on its ownership, development and management of its real estate portfolio, general real estate investment and development risks, vacancies in its properties, further downturns in the housing market, competition, illiquidity of real estate investments, bankruptcy or defaults of tenants, anchor store consolidations or closings, international activities, the impact of terrorist acts, risks associated with an investment in a professional sports team, its substantial debt leverage and the ability to obtain and service debt, the impact of restrictions imposed by its credit facility and senior debt, exposure to hedging agreements, the level and volatility of interest rates, the continued availability of tax-exempt government financing, the impact of credit rating downgrades, effects of uninsured or underinsured losses, effects of a downgrade or failure of our insurance carriers, environmental liabilities, conflicts of interest, risks associated with the sale of tax credits, risks associated with developing and managing properties in partnership with others, the ability to maintain effective internal controls, compliance with governmental regulations, increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny of the financial services industry, volatility in the market price of its publicly traded securities, inflation risks, litigation risks, as well as other risks listed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to, the company's annual and quarterly reports.

SOURCE Forest City Enterprises, Inc.