Many results pointed up for the company in Q2. Taubman saidaverage rents were up almost 2% to $43.64, and tenant sales per sfwas up 3.6% for the quarter and 6.1% year-to-date.

This fall, the company plans to open the $155 million,640,000-sf Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township, MI; a $63million renovated Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, MI; and a new open-airwing of the Stamford Town Center in Stamford, CT. The company isalso working on casino-orientated retail markets. During the secondquarter, Taubman acquired a majority interest in the Pier Shops atCaesars in Atlantic City, NJ, and is developing Macau Stuido Cityin Macao and New Songdo City in Incheon, South Korea. The companyalso grudgingly acknowledged that it is looking at new centers inPort St. Lucie, FL and in the northern Atlanta area. "We're workingon around 20 deals right now, some announced and some not, andthese are ones we haven't announced. We feel positive about them,but we can't comment beyond that," Taubman said in the call.

He also said the company is hopeful toward a resolution, eitherthrough the local government or the courts, of the proposal tobuild the Mall at Oyster Bay in Syosset, NY, a planned 860,000-sfdevelopment with Barneys, Niemen Marcus and Nordstrom. Taubman saidthe project should start in about 15 months, whether the townsettles with the company or the courts will allow the developmentto proceed in the face of opposition groups. "There's no reasonthat the town can deny approval, we fully conform to the townplanning code," Taubman said. "Absent a settlement, the cost forthis project will still not exceed $50 million, producing a 7%return."