STANDARD LIFE BUILDING TO BE RENOVATED INTO APARTMENTS
AS PART OF KING EDWARD HOTEL CONVERSION

HRI Properties of New Orleans teams with local partners Deuce McAllister and David Watkins to convert 1929 downtown Jackson Art Deco landmark into 76 apartments

JACKSON, MS (May 12, 2009) "The Standard Life Building, downtown Jackson's 1929 Art Deco masterpiece office tower, will be converted into 76 upscale apartments operating as a component of the King Edward hotel and apartments," announced Pres Kabacoff, co-chairman of HRI Properties, the majority owner and developer of the multi-building project. The development team purchased the building Tuesday for $1 million from the Jackson Redevelopment Authority.

Standard Life will be owned, financed and operated with the King Edward as a single integrated unit, said Kabacoff. Local partners in Standard Life include Watkins Partners and Deuce McAllister, who are also participating in the King Edward restoration.

"Adding 76 apartment units in Standard Life to the 64 nearing completion in the King Edward increases the density and critical mass that will draw more residents to downtown Jackson and help transform this area into a vibrant residential, retail, dining and entertainment neighborhood," said Kabacoff.

The Standard Life Building, located at 127 South Roach St. on the same city block as the King Edward, contains 21 stories with 18 habitable floors totaling 96,682 gross square feet with an attached one-story annex building of 10,215 gross square feet.

The Standard Life financing of $33.5 million increases the total investment in downtown Jackson to $123 million in the combined King Edward/Standard Life development.

The building was designed by architect C.H. Lindsay, who also designed the Threefoot Building in Meridian, MS, which HRI Properties recently was awarded development rights to convert into a 125-room hotel.

The renovated Standard Life Building will include 2,671 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Of the 76 apartment units, 50 will be one-bedroom units with an average size of 772 square feet and 26 will be two-bedroom units with an average size of 1,050 square feet.

Apartment amenities will include granite counter-tops; wood floors in living areas and ceramic floors in bathrooms; stainless steel kitchen appliances; ceiling fans; full-size washers and dryers in every unit and high speed Internet access throughout the building.

Residents of Standard Life will enjoy spectacular views, including some apartments with large private terraces.

The team of White Construction and HCI Architecture will serve as the design-builder for the Standard Life renovation. Established in 1971, White Construction Company, with dual corporate offices in Jackson, Mississippi and Austin, Texas, specializes in general contracting, construction management and design/build services HCI Architecture is an affiliate of HRI Properties with extensive experience in the adaptive re-use of historic structures.

The project has been made possible by the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, the City of Jackson, the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Financing comes from Chevron Tax Credit Investments, Inc., Tax Credit Capital, Inc., Capital One Bank, Trustmark Bank, Whitney Bank, First Bank and Trust, First NBC Bank, National New Markets Fund, and the National Cities Fund.

The historic King Edward Hotel is expected to open in late 2009 as a 186-room Hilton Garden Hotel. The 64 apartments on the upper floors are expected to be ready for occupancy in December of this year.