2008-10-07 19:02:04 -

www.simon.com - Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG), announced today that its 40%-owned joint venture, Chelsea Japan Co., Ltd., began construction of Ami Premium Outlets, the joint venture's eighth project. Phase I, comprising 225,000 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA), is scheduled to open in the summer of 2009 with approximately 100 tenants, including global

brands, domestic brands and restaurants. The center is expandable to approximately 360,000 square feet of GLA.

Ami Premium Outlets is strategically located in Ibaraki Prefecture, approximately 34 miles or a 50-minute drive northeast of central Tokyo. The 41-acre site lies near the Ami-Higashi interchange on the Ken-O Expressway (Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway), 11 miles from Tsukuba and 20 miles from Narita International Airport. A loop highway running past the site is scheduled for completion in 2012 and will provide a link to the Higashi Kanto Expressway and the Tohoku Expressway, two of the region's busiest highways. The population within a 30-mile radius of Ami is approximately 11 million people.

Chelsea Japan's operating portfolio - containing 1.9 million square feet of GLA and more than 800 stores - includes Gotemba Premium Outlets and Sano Premium Outlets (both serving Tokyo), Rinku Premium Outlets (Osaka), Toki Premium Outlets (Nagoya), and Tosu Premium Outlets (Fukuoka). Portfolio-wide tenant sales exceeded the equivalent of $1.2 billion in 2007.

Chelsea Japan Co., Ltd. is a joint venture of Simon (40% interest), Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. and Sojitz Corporation (each 30%). The joint venture's seventh project, Sendai-Izumi Premium Outlets (northern Honshu Island), is scheduled to open on October 16, 2008. Please see www.premiumoutlets.co.jp for more information.

About Simon Property Group:

Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest public U.S. real estate company. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers(R), The Mills(R), community/lifestyle centers and international properties. It currently owns or has an interest in 383 properties comprising 261 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. Simon Property Group, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Company's website at www.simon.com.

Simon Property Group, Inc.
Les Morris, 317-263-7711
E-mail: lmorris@simon.com