New Retail Project by Amstar & Renaissance Named "Best in Europe" by ICSC

PARIS, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

Amstar and Renaissance Development announced today that Kozzy Shopping Center was named Europe's Best Shopping Center Development (under 20,000 m2) by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110622/LA24054)

Kozzy Shopping Center, which opened in April 2010, was built by a joint venture between Amstar and Renaissance, and is located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul in the affluent residential neighborhood of Kadikoy. Kozzy is designed as a neighborhood center that includes a diverse, high-quality mix of 65 international and domestic retailers, a nine-screen cinema, indoor-outdoor restaurants and cafes, a 400-seat theater and an art exhibition center. Kozzy has been fully leased since its grand opening.

"The ICSC award is a validation of Amstar and Renaissance's strategy of developing best-in-class real estate in undersupplied markets of Turkey," said Jason Lucas, president of Amstar Global Partners.  "We are delighted by the award and will strive for similar honors with our strong pipeline of Turkish shopping center developments."

Presented annually since 1977, ICSC's European Shopping Center Awards honor highly successful retail developments. Kozzy was selected as an award winner by an eight-person jury of ICSC officials after being judged on a variety of criteria, including architecture, financial structure, impact on the surrounding area, innovation, location, property performance, marketing concept, design concept, brand/store mix and environmental awareness.

About Amstar:

Established in 1987, Amstar is a real estate investment manager that offers both commingled funds and tailored separate accounts to its international and domestic clients. With more than $1.5 billion of assets under management, Amstar's current portfolio consists primarily of retail, office, hospitality and multifamily holdings within the major markets of the United States and select markets in Europe and Latin America. For more information about Amstar visit the company's website at http://www.amstar.com or contact Amstar Executive Director Rob Toomey at +1-303-534-6322.

About Renaissance:

Renaissance is one of the leading general contractors and commercial real estate development groups in Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. During its 15 years of operations, Renaissance has completed hundreds of turn-key projects and currently owns a real estate portfolio valued at over $2.0 billion. In 2010, Renaissance became the second-largest contractor in Russia and Turkey and the 75th largest international contractor in the world according to ENR Magazine. For more information about Renaissance visit the company's website at http://www.rendvlp.com.

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