This compares with a 30% rise in rents in its New York office portfolio, a 4.8% hike for its Washington DC office portfolio, and an 8.8% increase in rents at Chicago's Merchandise Mart. The company acquired $921 million in retail assets during 2006, and devoted another $904 million to retail and/or retail/office mixed-use assets so far this year.

As of Dec. 31, 2006, occupancy in the retail portion of the company's portfolio was 92.7%. The retail sector's contribution to overall EBITDA for full-year 2006 was 22%, up 6.8% in comparison with year-end 2005.

The company's overall operating and investment strategies include the operation of real estate platforms that have "size and scale," according to presenters Joseph Macnow, EVP and CFO, and Wendy Silverstein, EVP of capital markets. Owning "real estate in markets with high barriers to entry and a high likelihood of capital appreciation" is also key to the strategy.