Essex Property Trust, Inc. : Essex Announces Preferred Equity Investment and 2011 Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call Information

PALO ALTO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/05/12 -- Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) announced today that on December 8, 2011, the Company made a preferred equity investment in Parkmerced, a 3,221 unit apartment rental property located in San Francisco, CA. The $175 million investment was made through Wesco II a joint venture owned 50% by the Company and 50% by an institutional partner. The preferred equity investment has a stated term of 7 years. Essex's portion of the investment was funded with the issuance of common stock from the "at the Market" equity distribution program and asset sales. The investment is expected to positively impact 2012 Earnings per Share and Funds from Operations by approximately 12 cents per share.

Michael J. Schall, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This is a unique opportunity to participate in the recapitalization of a high-quality property located in one of the strongest rental markets in the country. The structure of the transaction supports our expectation for enhanced returns at lower relative risk."

Parkmerced is owned by a partnership controlled by subsidiaries of Fortress Investment Group. Fannie Mae provided a $450 million senior mortgage loan simultaneous with the closing of the preferred equity investment.

We are subject to a confidentiality agreement which prohibits further disclosure in the current press release. Additional disclosures will be available in the 2011 10-K filing.

Fourth Quarter Conference Call Information

The company plans to release its fourth quarter 2011 earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. A conference call with senior management is scheduled for Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time or 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The fourth quarter conference call is open to everyone, and can be accessed by:

, and click on the fourth quarter earnings release link.

Phone: Dial [phone]. No passcode is necessary.

Replay: A rebroadcast of the live call will be available online for 90 days and digitally for 7 days. To access the replay online, go to and select the fourth quarter earnings link. To access the replay digitally, dial [phone] using the Replay Pin Number 386471.

Essex Property Trust, Inc., located in Palo Alto, California and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (ESS), is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 155 apartment communities with 5 communities under construction. Additional information about Essex can be found on the Company's web site at .

Forward looking statement - The statements which are not historical facts contained in this release such as the statements regarding the economic supply and demand and the rental rate growth in the markets in which Parkmerced is located in as well as any statements regarding growth and return on investments, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, unexpected changes in the economic conditions and market demand for rental units in the markets in which Parkmerced is located and growth of the Company. All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and the Company assumes no obligation to update this information. For more details relating to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements, and risks to our business in general, please refer to our SEC filings, including our most recent Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2011 and Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Bryan Hunt
[phone]

Source: Essex Property Trust, Inc.