PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE November 4, 2005

For more information, contact Steve Houston at 314/721-2828.

PRIDE of St. Louis Inc. Hosts “Investment Summit” to Encourage Greater Union Pension Fund Support of Capital Sources Backing 100% Union-Built Local Projects

PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc. has mobilized the region’s union pension trustees and labor leadership to more fully leverage the already sizeable economic impact of its investable pension monies. Emblematic of the impact is a now-emerging addition to the Clayton skyline – the 17-story Maryland Walk condominiums by Conrad Properties. The $75 million project is funded in part by Chicago-based Commonwealth Realty Advisors Inc., which invests labor pension funds in 100% union-built projects.

ST. LOUIS -- PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc., the venerable construction labor-management group, has mobilized the region’s union pension trustees and labor leadership to more fully leverage the already sizeable economic impact of its investable pension monies. PRIDE hosted an “Investment Summit” Nov. 3, 2005 that brought national financiers to St. Louis to meet with union pension fund leaders to pave the way for the development of more 100% union-built projects in the metro area.

“Through union-backed real estate investment funds and other initiatives, the union construction industry has attracted significant development dollars to the area,” said Jim LaMantia, executive director of PRIDE. “This is a quiet competitive advantage for St. Louis that unites capital sources with our development and construction community. Our goal is to encourage pension trustees to show even greater support for these capital sources.”

Emblematic of the impact is a now-emerging addition to the Clayton skyline – the 17-story Maryland Walk condominiums by Conrad Properties. The $75 million project is funded in part by Chicago-based Commonwealth Realty Advisors Inc., which invests labor pension funds in 100% union-built projects. “It’s the perfect example of a creative concept that is brought to life in part by our ability to reinvest our union pension funds locally,” said LaMantia. Maryland Walk has already sold 75% of its condominiums months prior to its mid-2006 completion.

In Illinois, another union-back fund, Multi Employer Property Trust (MEPT), recently invested $15 million to build a warehouse that is now 100% leased at Gateway Commerce Center in Madison County, Ill. Other key local projects funded by MEPT include Shaw Park Plaza in Clayton and West 70 Commerce Center in St. Charles.

The investment summit, held in downtown St. Louis, included representatives from nationally prominent investment funds that focus on 100% union-built projects, including:

Roger Feldman, vice president - Multi-Employer Property Trust
Robert Kohn, marketing director - Commonwealth Realty Advisors, Inc.
Scott Hockenberry, director, investor relations - Union Labor Life
Judy McCoy, managing director - ASB Capital Management Inc.
Jenny Notte, vice president - ASB Capital Management Inc.
Brian Goding, president - Fiduciary Consultants, Inc.

Approximately 35 local union pension fund trustees and labor leaders attended. It also attracted St. Louis County Executive Charles Dooley and representatives of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.

PRIDE, founded in 1972, is an acronym for Productivity and Responsibility Increase Development & Employment. PRIDE works to maintain harmony and build cooperation among the key players in the St. Louis building industry. The organization promotes construction productivity, cost-effective construction, safe and drug-free job sites and work force training and development. Find out more at www.prideconstruction.org.

# # #

Editor’s note:

PRIDE is headquartered in Clayton, Mo. (63103).