NORTHBROOK, Ill., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Bradley Real Estate, Inc.
(NYSE: BTR) today announced that Standard & Poor's has assigned a BBB-
corporate rating to the company's operating partnership, Bradley Operating
Limited Partnership, and noted a stable outlook.  The operating partnership
had previously not been rated.
    "The achievement of an investment-grade rating has been an integral part
of our business strategy of moving toward an investment-grade balance sheet
which provides the company with maximum financial flexibility.  The attainment
of this rating should enable us to reduce our cost of capital and extend the
weighted maturity of our debt," noted Irving E. Lingo, Jr., chief financial
officer.  "We are pleased at having received this rating and believe that it
underscores the quality of the entire Bradley organization," he added.
    The preceding information contains forward-looking statements of the
company's plans, objectives and expectations, which are dependent upon a
number of factors including no weakness in the Midwestern United States retail
climate, the continuing availability of retail center acquisitions in the
Midwest, and the effect of economic conditions on the company's financing
activities.  Reference is made to the discussions under captions "Risk
Factors" in the company's 1996 Form 10-K report which includes a discussion of
certain other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in forward-looking statements.
    Bradley Real Estate, Inc. is the nation's oldest real estate investment
trust (REIT) and a leading owner and operator of neighborhood and community
centers located in the Midwest region of the United States.  The company has
paid 144 consecutive quarterly distributions to its share owners, one of the
longest records of distributions among publicly traded REITs.  The company
owns 43 properties in 12 states aggregating 8.7 million square feet.

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