[IMGCAP(2)]Neil Soskin, vice president and director of leasing for the western region for Weingarten Realty, says that WinCo rounds out the tenant mix in what has become a retail hub for the Apple Valley region of San Bernardino County in the High Desert region of the Inland Empire. The center was designed as a one-stop destination for grocery shopping, restaurant dining, clothing, housewares, fitness and entertainment. It serves a community with a population of approximately 700,000, including Apple Valley and surrounding areas. Approximately 72,000 of that population is in the Town of Apple Valley.

Jess Ranch Marketplace is part of a portfolio of 416 properties including 335 neighborhood and community shopping centers and 81 industrial properties, including tenant-owned square footage, that is owned by Weingarten. The publicly traded REIT's portfolio totals approximately 74 million sf under management.

Weingarten's new development pipeline at the end of the first quarter of 2008 included 35 properties at various stages of development in which the REIT has invested $382 million, according to its latest public filings. It expects its total investment in the projects at completion to be $657 million.