Development has already begun at two large projects in Trexlertown and Harrisburg, PA among others, and their progress is "moving along very effectively," said Leo Ullman, president, chairman and CEO, during a third-quarter conference call. He expects the locally based REIT to begin to realize benefits from pipeline openings in late 2008, extending into 2009 and beyond.

By Sept. 30, the company had completed or nearly completed its acquisitions for the year at a total cost of $290 million, including land to expand on next to the trusts' Brickyard Plaza shopping center in Berlin, CT. The firm increased its penetration in the southern New England and Mid-Atlantic coastal markets. Stabilized properties were 96% leased at the end of third quarter.

In respect to both "the currently challenging real estate and credit markets" and "constraints on consumer spending and disposable income," Ullman said, "we're well positioned to ride out the storm. We're bread and butter properties," he said, "which have proven historically to survive challenging economic cycles."