This compares with a 30% rise in rents in its New York officeportfolio, a 4.8% hike for its Washington DC office portfolio, andan 8.8% increase in rents at Chicago's Merchandise Mart. Thecompany acquired $921 million in retail assets during 2006, anddevoted another $904 million to retail and/or retail/officemixed-use assets so far this year.

As of Dec. 31, 2006, occupancy in the retail portion of thecompany's portfolio was 92.7%. The retail sector's contribution tooverall EBITDA for full-year 2006 was 22%, up 6.8% in comparisonwith year-end 2005.

The company's overall operating and investment strategiesinclude the operation of real estate platforms that have "size andscale," according to presenters Joseph Macnow, EVP and CFO, andWendy Silverstein, EVP of capital markets. Owning "real estate inmarkets with high barriers to entry and a high likelihood ofcapital appreciation" is also key to the strategy.