Simon Malls | More Choices®

GARLAND, Texas, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG) broke ground on its Firewheel Town Center in a ceremony held here this morning and announced that Dillard's, Foley's and AMC Theaters will be the lead anchors of the project.

The first phase of the Firewheel Town Center, scheduled to open in the fall of 2005, will include approximately 750,000 square feet of retail/entertainment uses and 75,000 square feet of high-end office space in an open-air main street center. Firewheel Town Center will be located on the northeast corner of State Highway 190 (President George Bush Turnpike) and State Highway 78 in North Garland.

In addition to Dillard's, Foley's and AMC Theaters, the project will feature Barnes & Noble, Circuit City and Linens N' Things. Firewheel Town Center will contain approximately 245,000 square feet of specialty shop space and four to six sit-down restaurants. At build-out, Firewheel Town Center will have over 1,000,000 total square feet of combined space.

"We're extremely pleased to start construction at Firewheel with such an impressive list of anchors," said Rod Vosper, vice president of new development at Simon Property Group.

"Everyone associated with the city of Garland has been supportive of this project for many years and we look forward to making their dream a reality next year. This center will immediately become the retail and office hub for northeast Dallas County. The market has opened up dramatically with the extension of the President George Bush Turnpike from I-75, Central Expressway, to State Highway 78. Further extension of 190 East and South to I-30 is moving through the process on schedule and will only further solidify growth in the housing market."

Dillard's, Inc. Chief Executive Officer William Dillard, II, stated, "We are tremendously proud to be a part of Firewheel Town Center and we are pleased to have the opportunity to serve a growing base of Dillard's customers in the rapidly growing Garland area. Our new Dillard's store will feature a great selection of Dillard's merchandise specifically tailored to the tastes and preferences of our Garland area shoppers." The Dillard's store will measure 155,000 square feet and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2005.

"Firewheel Town Center is already generating great enthusiasm, and we are excited to be a part of such an innovative project at this prime location," said Drew Pickman, president and chief executive officer of Foley's. "This site will represent Foley's 16th location in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, and we look forward to presenting an exciting, convenient, new shopping experience to both our long-standing and future customers in Garland and the surrounding areas."

The new design for Foley's two-level, 140,000 square-foot store is a forward-looking concept conceived to respond to the growth of suburban "lifestyle" centers and the customer's desire to make shopping more convenient. The Foley's store will feature a brighter, more contemporary open floor plan that includes additional aisles for easier access to merchandise.

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership and management of income-producing properties, primarily regional malls and community shopping centers. Through its subsidiary partnerships, it currently owns or has an interest in 247 properties containing an aggregate of 191 million square feet of gross leasable area in 37 states, as well as ownership interests in other real estate assets in North America. The Company holds interests in 47 assets in Europe (in France, Italy, Poland and Portugal). Additional Simon Property Group information is available at www.simon.com .

SOURCE Simon Property Group, Inc.

/CONTACT: Les Morris of Simon Property Group, Inc., +1-317-263-7711/ /Web site: http://www.simon.com /