PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Real Investment Trust
(NYSE: PEI) announced today the acquisition of Northeast Tower Center in
Philadelphia, PA and the financing of Palmer Park Mall in Easton, PA.  Both
transactions were completed in December 1998.
    Northeast Tower Center is a power center located in a densely populated
neighborhood in  Philadelphia, PA, which  will contain approximately 500,000
square feet when fully built out.  The center's primary tenants are Home
Depot, Pep Boys, Old Navy, Staples, PetSmart and Dick's Sporting Goods.  The
purchase price for the center was approximately $21.3 million, including $17
million of assumed debt and the issuance of Operating Partnership (OP) units
with a value of approximately $3.3 million.  The price of the OP units was
$23.40 per unit.  The Company acquired an 89% interest in the property and is
obligated to acquire the remaining 11% interest in January of 2002.
    In addition, the Company acquired for $3.7 million a parcel of land in the
shopping center, which will accommodate the development of approximately
100,000 square feet.  The property was available as a result of the bankruptcy
of Bradlee's, which did not complete its store on the land.  The Company is in
the process of negotiating a lease with a major tenant for a substantial
portion of the space.
    Additional funding for Northeast Tower Center will include the acquisition
of the Home Depot parcel and payments based on the completion of certain
leasing.  The Company had agreed to acquire Northeast Tower Center in
September 1997 in connection with the acquisition and merger of The Rubin
Organization, Inc.
    Jonathan B. Weller, President and Chief Operating Officer of PREIT,
commented, "The acquisition of Northeast Tower Center furthers our strategy of
acquiring highly evolved community power centers in densely populated
neighborhoods.  It also strengthens our concentration of desirable properties
with outstanding tenant interests in the Delaware Valley marketplace.  This
transaction also provides PREIT with an opportunity to enhance the value of
the property by leveraging its development expertise by building on the
undeveloped Bradlee's parcel."

    Palmer Park Mall Financing
    Palmer Park Mall is a 450,000 square foot enclosed mall in Easton, PA in
which the Company owns a 50% interest in a partnership with Crown American
Realty Trust (NYSE: CWN).  The property is undergoing redevelopment, and a new
192,000 square foot Boscov's department store opened in October 1998.  The new
financing is for $20 million, of which the Company's share is $10 million.
The interest rate is 6.77% and the loan matures in December 2008.  The use of
the proceeds was to pay off existing debt of $5.55 million with a weighted
average interest rate of 7.73% and to fund the construction of the Boscov's
department store, mall renovations and tenant allowances.
    Ronald Rubin, Chief Executive Officer of PREIT, added, "We are pleased to
have taken advantage of opportunities in the financing market to secure
favorable long-term financing that will enhance our return on this property.
Additionally, the introduction of a high-profile tenant like Boscov's to the
Lehigh Valley market provides upside potential for both rental revenues and
overall tenant mix."
    Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, founded in 1960 and one of the
first equity REITs in the U.S., has a primary investment focus on shopping
centers (6.6 million square feet) and apartment communities (7,243 units)
located primarily in the eastern United States. The Company's portfolio
currently consists of 47 properties in 10 states. In addition, there are 7
properties under development.  Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust is
headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa.
    With the exception of the historical information contained in the release,
the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made
pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements involve various risks and may cause
actual results to differ materially.  These risks include, but are not limited
to, the ability of the Trust  to grow internally or by acquisition, and to
integrate acquired businesses, changing industry and competitive conditions,
and other risks outside the control of the company referred to in the Trust's
registration statement and periodic reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.

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