RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Sale of a 37.5% Interest in East Hills to CPP Investment Board

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Oct 23 (MARKET WIRE) --
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ("RioCan") (TSX: REI.UN) and Trinity
Development Group Inc. ("Trinity") today announced that they have sold a
37.5% non-managing ownership interest in East Hills, phases I and III, a
development featuring approximately 115 acres in Calgary, Alberta, to CPP
Investment Board ("CPPIB"). The purchase price is $28.5 million subject
to holdback conditions.

The East Hills development is located at the East Freeway and 17th Avenue
SE. RioCan owned 50% of phase I and III, while Trinity and the original
vendor each owned 25%. RioCan, Trinity and the original vendor reduced
their ownership interests to 37.5%, 12.5% and 12.5% respectively, with
CPPIB acquiring a 37.5% non-managing ownership interest.

Upon completion, it is expected that the site will feature almost 1.2
million square feet of new format retail space, with substantial
completion of the development to be staggered between late 2009 (phase I)
and late 2012 (phase III).

"As a long-term investor, the CPPIB seeks out high quality assets which
will generate revenue and help pay future retirement benefits. The East
Hills development will, as a part of our larger real estate portfolio,
help secure our future returns as we build assets in the Canadian retail
sector," said Graeme Eadie, Senior Vice President, Real Estate
Investments for CPPIB.

Edward Sonshine, Q.C., President and CEO of RioCan, said, "RioCan is
pleased to partner once again with CPPIB. This sale expands our
relationship with one of Canada's largest pension funds and we are
excited to have them as a partner for this new development."

RioCan, along with its development partner Trinity, will manage all
aspects of the development, construction and leasing of the project and
will earn market based fees for doing so. Upon completion, RioCan will be
responsible for property management.

This agreement regarding the East Hills development follows an
announcement made in June 2008 that RioCan and Trinity had sold a 50%
non-managing ownership interest in two developments to CPPIB. The two
developments are Jacksonport located in Calgary, Alberta and St. Clair
Avenue and Weston Road located in Toronto, Ontario. Jacksonport is a
100-acre development that will consist predominately of new format
retail. The St. Clair and Weston development features over 19 acres and
will ultimately feature approximately 570,000 square feet of retail
space. Under the agreement, RioCan and Trinity will each retain a 25%
ownership interest in these two developments.

About RioCan

RioCan is Canada's largest real estate investment trust with a total
capitalization of approximately $7.2 billion. It owns and manages
Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centres with ownership interests
in a portfolio of 238 retail properties, including 14 under development,
containing an aggregate of over 58 million square feet. For further
information, please refer to RioCan's website at www.riocan.com.

About CPP Investment Board

The CPP Investment Board is a professional investment management
organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan
to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and
beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets,
the CPP Investment Board invests in public equities, private equities,
real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income
instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong
Kong, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of
the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At June 30,
2008, the CPP Fund totaled C$127.7 billion. For more information, please
visit www.cppib.ca.

The Chief Actuary of Canada estimates that CPP contributions will exceed
annual benefits paid through to the end of 2019, providing a 12-year
period before a portion of the CPP Fund's investment income is needed to
help pay CPP benefits.

About Trinity

Trinity is a leader and innovator in the development and leasing of high
quality shopping centres. Established in 1991, Trinity has created over
20 million square feet of large format retail space across Canada. For
more information about Trinity, visit www.trinity-group.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of applicable securities laws. These statements include, but are not
limited to, statements concerning our objectives, our strategies to
achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to
management's beliefs, plans, estimates, and intentions, and similar
statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances,
performance or expectations that are not historical facts.
Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "objective", "may",
"will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe",
"should", "plans" or "continue", or similar expressions suggesting future
outcomes or events. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's
current beliefs and are based on information currently available to
management.

These statements are not guarantees of future events and are based on our
estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual events or results described above to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Those
risks and uncertainties include risks associated with real property
ownership, financing and interest rates, environmental matters and
construction. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in
drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking
information include: an increasing divergence in the general economy
between eastern and western Canada; a less robust retail environment than
we have seen for the last few years; interest costs to us remain
relatively stable; acquisition capitalization rates increase and land
costs for greenfield development decrease; a continuing and accelerating
trend towards land use intensification in high growth markets; and equity
and debt capital markets will continue to provide access to capital to
fund at acceptable costs our future growth program and refinance our
debts as they mature. Although the forward-looking information contained
herein is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions,
there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with
these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this
press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Except as
required by applicable law, RioCan undertakes no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts:
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
Edward Sonshine, Q.C.
President & CEO
(416) 866-3018

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

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