Crosland Adds Wiggins as Senior Vice President of Retail Division

Charlotte, N.C., March 17, 2004 – Crosland Inc., one of the Southeast’s leading real estate companies, welcomes Mike Wiggins as senior vice president of the company’s retail division. Wiggins previously served as vice president of retail development for Crescent Resources, where he launched a retail division for the Duke Energy subsidiary.

The addition of Wiggins closely follows Crosland’s creation of an Orlando office, headed by Perry Reader, formerly president of Disney’s Celebration Company. Both moves are part of Crosland’s geographic expansion efforts.

“Mike’s relationships and development expertise throughout the Southeast, particularly in Florida, dovetail nicely with Crosland’s growth strategy,” said Todd Mansfield, Crosland’s CEO. “Mike will round out our retail team in terms of geographic coverage, and he will mentor new talent, which is central to our ongoing development initiatives.”

Peter B. Pappas, president of Crosland’s retail division, noted that Wiggins will strengthen Crosland’s existing client base as well as bring new opportunities to the company.

“Crosland’s regional expansion is in many ways an outgrowth of our clients’ desire to move into new markets,” said Pappas. “We have a track record of creating successful grocery-anchored centers as well as destination centers to serve larger trade areas. Mike’s talents and character afforded him many options, so we are very pleased that he judged Crosland to be the best platform for career growth.”

With Crescent, Wiggins established operations in seven Southeastern states, with offices in Charlotte, Tampa and Birmingham. His division’s portfolio included a dozen neighborhood shopping centers valued at $120 million, and along the way he nurtured relationships with numerous high-profile retail chains. Previously he was vice president of retail development for Edens & Avant from 1992 to 1999. Prior to that, he was an independent consultant in commercial real estate development, a field he first entered in 1980.

For Wiggins, Crosland provides an opportunity to progress beyond neighborhood centers.

“The idea of working for a company that can execute ventures like Birkdale Village was very appealing to me,” said Wiggins. “As prime development sites become more scarce, mixed-use capabilities are vital, and Crosland has the reputation and in-house expertise to bring projects of that scale together.”

Birkdale Village was named the nation’s best mixed-use development in 2003 by the National Association of Home Builders, which honored Crosland with its Pillars of the Industry Award. Birkdale Village was also recognized by the Urban Land Institute, chosen as one of 26 global finalists for its prestigious 2003 Award for Excellence.

“I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished at Crescent retail, and comfortable that I leave them with solid projects in the pipeline,” Wiggins added. “Crosland is an entrepreneurial company whose sole business is real estate development and stewardship. At this stage in my career, I look forward to diversifying into more complex and intriguing projects.”

Crosland has almost $200 million worth of projects in its retail pipeline in the Carolinas and Tennessee. Pappas noted that five of these are grocery-anchored neighborhood centers.

“Mixed-use centers grab the spotlight, but neighborhood and community centers are vital to our interests and those of our clients,” Pappas said. “Mike is a proven innovator, and several supermarket clients have already called us to note how pleased they are that he’s joining the Crosland family.”

Wiggins earned his bachelor’s in political science from The Citadel. He is a licensed real estate broker in North and South Carolina, and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member. He is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and recently participated in an ICSC panel regarding mixed-use development.