Millennia Sacramento Files Development Application for Union Pacific Railyards Site

SACRAMENTO, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennia Sacramento, III, LLC, an entity controlled by Thomas Enterprises, Inc., today announced that it has filed a Development Application requesting approval of a multi-billion dollar project that will transform the 240-acre downtown Sacramento Railyards -- one of the largest urban infill opportunities in the nation. The filing of the application signifies a major breakthrough in negotiations between Millennia Sacramento and Union Pacific to purchase this historic site that was the birthplace of the transcontinental railroad.

As further commitment to the project and the region, Millennia also announced that its controlling entity, Thomas Enterprises, will open its Northern California office in Sacramento. The Sacramento office will be headed by Suheil Totah, who will serve as vice president of Thomas Enterprises and lead the development effort locally for the downtown Railyards project as well as other Thomas Enterprises' projects throughout Northern California.

"We are delighted to have achieved another major milestone in this very complex transaction," said Stanley E. Thomas of Atlanta-based Thomas Enterprises, Inc. He continued, "Suheil has been vital to getting us to where we are today and is a natural fit to lead our Northern California operations." Thomas has been a core member of the Millennia team since the inception of the group's involvement in the project.

The application filed today proposes a mixed-use urban village with 10,000 housing units (adding approximately 20,000 new residents to the downtown area), along with office, hotel, retail and cultural uses anchored by the Railroad Technology Museum, an Intermodal Transportation Facility and the renovated historic Central Shop buildings. The Central Shop buildings, jewels of the downtown that once housed the largest railroad maintenance facility west of the Mississippi, will be the heart of the project. The shop buildings will be reborn as a public marketplace, the new Railroad Technology Museum and other cultural and entertainment venues. The public marketplace may host a regional food market similar to San Francisco's successful Ferry Building marketplace, symbolizing and enhancing Sacramento's history and reputation as a leading food and agriculture center. The plan also includes an innovative and dynamic extension of 5th and 6th Streets over the relocated railroad tracks. The extension may feature housing and commercial uses and will connect the existing downtown to the Railyards and the areas north, creating a vibrant 24/7 environment.

Thomas Enterprises will be temporarily located in the Wells Fargo Center, with plans to establish its permanent Sacramento office at the Railyards at the beginning of 2006. Completion of the sales transaction is expected to occur by the end of 2005. Totah will start in his new role at the beginning of July.