TORONTO, ONTARIO--(MARKET WIRE)--Dec 9, 2008 -- RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ("RioCan")(Toronto:REI-UN.TO - News) today announced that it has entered into an agreement for a land lease with Lowe's Companies Canada, ULC ("Lowe's"), a subsidiary of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - News), to open a new home improvement store at one of RioCan's existing properties in Barrie, Ontario.

The centre is located at Essa Road and Bryne Drive in one of the busiest areas in Barrie with excellent visibility from Highway 400. The centre currently consists of a 72,000 square foot single-storey freestanding Zehrs (Loblaws) store. Upon completion, this new format retail centre will feature an additional 216,000 square feet, including a 142,000 square foot Lowe's that will anchor the newly developed portion of the site.

"RioCan is pleased to be adding another Lowe's to a prominent property location within the Greater Toronto market. This development is consistent with RioCan's ongoing land use intensification program, namely to identify existing properties that can be developed to maximize the value of our portfolio," said Edward Sonshine, Q.C., President and CEO of RioCan.

This agreement for the Lowe's in Barrie follows an announcement made on April 4, 2008 that RioCan entered into two land lease agreements with Lowe's to open two new home improvement stores in Ontario at Taunton Road and Garrard Road in Whitby and RioCan Warden Centre in Toronto. These two agreements were the first transactions between RioCan and Lowe's.

All three locations, Essa Road and Bryne Drive, Taunton Road and Garrard Road and RioCan Warden Centre, are currently under construction. In order to accommodate the Lowe's at RioCan Warden Centre, the former Wal-Mart premise was demolished and the Lowe's store is being constructed in its place.

About RioCan

RioCan is Canada's largest real estate investment trust with a total capitalization of approximately $6.4 billion. It owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centres with ownership interests in a portfolio of 237 retail properties, including 16 under development, containing an aggregate of over 58 million square feet. For further information, please refer to RioCan's website at www.riocan.com.

     Contacts:
     RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
     Rags Davloor
     Senior Vice President & CFO
     (416) 642-3554
     Website: http://www.riocan.com