MERCHANDISE MART PROPERTIES, INC. WELCOMES RETAILERS TO THE

INTERNATIONAL HOME FURNISHINGS MARKET,® OCT. 14-20, 2004

MMPI’s Showrooms and Temporary Exhibits in High Point, N.C.,

Offer Buyers an Incredible Selection of Product

HIGH POINT, N.C. (Aug. 18, 2004) — The International Home Furnishings Market® again takes place in High Point, N.C., Oct. 14-20, 2004. As the world’s largest and most comprehensive exhibition of residential furnishings, the seven-day Market encompasses 11.5 million square feet and draws more than 80,000 attendees from more than 60 channels of distribution, including home furnishings dealers, department stores, specialty stores, catalog companies, discount/mass merchandisers and regional chain stores.

Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) manages 2.2 million square feet in six buildings in High Point: Historic Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and National Furniture Mart. More than 1,100 permanent showrooms and temporary exhibitors display in these six buildings. Collectively, the MMPI buildings offer the most comprehensive selection of home furnishings and home décor at every price point.

Historic Market Square: The Resource for High-End, Unique Furnishings and Decorative Accessories

305 West High Street

High Point, North Carolina 27260

Phone: 336.821.1500

Fax: 336.821.1581

UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2004 MARKET

Charles Sadek Import Co., Inc. Space G67, MS-G expansion

John Boyd Designs Space G8,10,14,15,22 & 24, MS-G expansion

Vintage Verandah Space G19, MS-G expansion

Historic Market Square is North Carolina’s largest adaptive-use building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It contains five floors of fine furnishings, premium fabric, upholstery and high-end decorative accessories. Of the total 575,000 square feet, 425,000 square feet are devoted to the 100 permanent showrooms in the building. Under construction from 1901–1924 and standing as a tribute to the industry and craftsmanship of its history, Market Square features hardwood floors, exposed brick and massive wood columns.

The adjacent Market Square Tower features 15 floors totaling 150,000 square feet of showrooms, offices and luxurious condominiums. Exhibitors in the tower are mainly textile companies who provide fabrics to the furniture industry. Market Square is North Carolina’s first mixed-use building.

Known in the industry for housing high-end lines, Market Square is home to such multi-line manufacturers as Century Furniture Company and Tomlinson Furniture/Erwin-Lambeth. Decorative accessory and area rug anchors include nationally known Shaw Rugs, Alsy Lighting, Nourison, Habersham, Highland House and Karastan Rugs.

The Suites at Market Square: A World-Class Exhibition Facility for the 21st Century

200 West Commerce Street

High Point, North Carolina 27260

Phone: 336.821.1500

Fax: 336.821.1581

The Suites at Market Square is an updated addition to the popular Market Square Complex. The building incorporates numerous features that give a respectful nod to its historical site, while providing the most modern conveniences and amenities to its occupants.

The Suites at Market Square celebrated its grand opening with much fanfare and excitement in April 2000. The Suites at Market Square houses 400 exhibitors in 347,000 square feet of temporary space. Conveniently located adjacent to Market Square, the temporary suites provide a highly flexible, upscale presentation in an attractive showroom-type atmosphere showcasing casegoods, decorative accessories and home accents.

Hamilton Market: The Resource for High-Quality, Traditional Furniture and Accessories

101 North Hamilton Street

High Point, North Carolina 27260

Phone: 336.821.1500

Fax: 336.821.1581

Hamilton Market features more than 25 permanent showrooms and hundreds of lines of fine furniture and accessories. Built in 1990, the building is conveniently located at the gateway to the Hamilton-Wrenn showroom district. At the corner of Hamilton and Broad Streets, Hamilton Market is easily accessible by the Market Express and inter-showroom shuttle service to and from Market Square.

High-quality traditional furniture from America and English reproduction pieces from Europe, along with hundreds of decorative accessories lines can be found in Hamilton Market.

Plaza Suites: Home to Major, Nationally Recognized Furniture Companies and Hundreds of Furniture and Home Décor Manufacturers

222 South Main Street

High Point, North Carolina 27260

Phone: 336.821.1500

Fax: 336.889.1581

UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2004 MARKET

Plaza Suites is home to 20 permanent showrooms and more than 100 exhibitors. Plaza Suites — aptly named because of its proximity to Furniture Plaza and its description of the market "suites" setup inside — offers buyers all of their merchandising needs. This 460,000 gross-square-foot, five-story exhibit facility, which opened in October 2001, now houses an impressive collection of top names in the furniture industry. These nationally recognized permanent tenants include England, Leather Trend, Progressive Furniture, Legacy Classic Furniture, DMI Furniture, Wynwood and Master Designs.

The state-of-the-art architecture and layout of Plaza Suites is designed to integrate with the adjoining Furniture Plaza and function as one building. In fact, the two buildings are physically connected and integrated at all five levels. Buyers may shop the National Furniture Mart, Furniture Plaza, Plaza Suites, Historic Market Square and the Suites at Market Square without ever having to leave the buildings.

The opening of Plaza Suites in October 2001 also debuted a new, six-story storefront to the adjacent Furniture Plaza building. This entirely renovated storefront matches that of Plaza Suites using identical materials and design elements.

Furniture Plaza: Home to Name-Brand Manufacturers of Popularly Priced Lines

210 South Main Street

High Point, North Carolina 27260

Phone: 336.821.1500

Fax: 336.821.1581

Conveniently located in the center of the market, Furniture Plaza has 313,000 square feet and features 44 manufacturers of moderately priced upholstery, casegoods, dining, motion and occasional lines on six floors. Manufacturers include La-Z-Boy, Alan White, Craftmaster and Corinthian. The space is connected by a central escalator atrium that features a hard-wood-floored reception lobby.

Built in 1960 with an expansion in 1990, Furniture Plaza features popular-priced traditional furniture. This building attracts the top 250 retailers in the nation. Furniture Plaza connects to Historic Market Square and the National Furniture Mart, and also is immediately adjacent to the Plaza Suites facility.

National Furniture Mart: Nine Floors of Promotional and Mid-Priced Furniture Lines

200 South Main Street

High Point, North Carolina 27260

Phone: 336.821.1500

Fax: 336.889.1581

Adjacent to Furniture Plaza, the National Furniture Mart is located on Main Street. A mainstay of the market, the National Furniture Mart features nine floors of popular-priced furniture lines in 31 permanent showrooms including Powell, PeopLoungers, Canadel, Bauhaus, Fairmont Designs and Soft Line. The 258,846-square-foot building was first developed in 1964. From 1993-1997, the building underwent an extensive $3 million renovation.

All major categories of furnishings in the promotional to medium price points can be found here, including dining, occasional, upholstery, bedroom and RTA lines. The building is ideally located at the corner of Commerce and Main in downtown High Point.

For more information about MMPI and its High Point properties, please visit www.merchandisemart.com or call 312.527.7074.

The International Home Furnishings Market is a registered trademark of the International Home Furnishings Market Authority.

Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.

MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart, Chicago Apparel Center, and 33 North Dearborn in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building in New York; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Washington Office Center in Washington, D.C.

Vornado Realty Trust, owner of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.

MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY:

Joanna Mineau

Director of Public Relations

Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.

312.527.7074

jmineau@mmart.com

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