Kite Realty Group Trust

this session, you'll need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your host for today's conference, Brian McCarthy, Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications. Please go ahead.

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Kite Realty Group's first quarter earnings call. Some of today's comments contain forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions of future events and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. For more information about the factors that can adversely affect the company's results, please see our SEC filings, including our most recent Form 10-K. Today's remarks also include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to yesterday's earnings press release, available on our website. for reconciliation of these non-GAAP performance measures to our GAAP financial results. On the call with me today from Kite Realty Group, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Kite. President and Chief Operating Officer, Tom McGowan. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Heath Feer. Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, Dave Buell. and Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Investor Relations, Tyler Henshaw. Given the number of participants on the call, we kindly ask that you limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you have additional questions, we ask that you please rejoin the queue. I will now turn the call over to John.

Thanks, Brian. KRG had an excellent start to 2025, highlighted by our strong first quarter operating results guidance raise and a landmark acquisition in a joint venture with GIC. I'm proud of our team's ability to navigate the recent macroeconomic environment and focus on sound execution. This is in no small part due to our incredibly strong balance sheet that allows us to respond opportunistically to any potential economic disruption. Demand for space in our high-quality centers continues to remain healthy, allowing our team to produce solid spreads, generate strong returns on capital, improve our embedded growth, and enhance our merchandising mix. Blended cash leasing spreads in the first quarter were just under 14%, highlighted by 20% non-option renewal spreads. We continue to emphasize our non-option renewal spreads, as we believe they are the best barometer for mark to market potential in our portfolio. Our new leasing volume was more heavily weighted to the small shop side of our business this quarter. We were encouraged to grow the shop lease rate sequentially, giving the seasonality that generally occurs in the first quarter. To accompany the leasing volume, starting rents for comparable new shop leases in the first quarter were nearly $41 per square foot, approximately 20% higher than our current portfolio average. In addition to strong starting rents, new and non-option renewal shop leases signed in the first quarter of 2025 have weighted average rent bumps of 360 basis points, which is nearly 100 basis points higher than the shop leases executed just three years ago. Pushing our portfolio to a higher cruising speed remains the primary focus for our team as we continue improving on our long-term growth profile. Demand for our anchor spaces remains strong as larger format tenants focus beyond short-term headlines, making decisions designed to benefit their businesses for decades across multiple economic cycles. We're making great progress on backfills evidenced by the depth of demand in our pipeline, including grocery, off-price retailers, full-line apparel, fitness, sporting goods, and home furnishings. Our strong first quarter results culminated in a $0.02 increase to NAREIT and Core FFO per share guidance. Keith will provide more details on the components of the raise, but first I'd like to discuss our recent acquisition of Legacy West in a joint venture with GIC. Opportunities to acquire iconic mixed-use assets are rare. Given our strong presence in the Dallas MSA and strategic objective to increase exposure to high-caliber assets, We viewed Legacy West as a property that aligns with our investment criteria and long-term portfolio vision. Recognizing the magnitude of the opportunity, we proactively approached GIC to explore forming a joint venture. We could not be more enthusiastic about our partnership. Additional transaction details are outlined in our earnings release and investor presentation. But Legacy West unequivocally represents a pivotal step forward for KRG. Legacy West instantly enhances our portfolio quality and solidifies KRG's position as one of the prominent owners and operators of significant lifestyle and misused assets. The leasing synergies within the balance of our portfolio are powerful, enabling us to deepen relationships with leading brands like Aritzia, Fox Restaurant Group, Lululemon, Sephora, Viore, and West Elm, just to name a few. and the acquisition also fosters new relationships with luxury tenants, including LVMH and Caring. As we implement our proven operating platform on this asset, we expect to capitalize on significant mark-to-market opportunities and further elevate the merchandising mix. The transaction is immediately accretive to FFO per share, while modestly increasing pro forma leverage by 0.2 times. keeping us comfortably at or below our long-term net debt to EBITDA target of five to five and a half times. Our first quarter results capped off by this game-changing acquisition and joint venture are the product of disciplined capital allocation, a best-in-class operating platform, and prudent balance sheet management. While we have more work to do for the balance of 2025, We are a battle-tested and energized team that will always strive to outperform expectations. I'm confident in our ability to produce strong results in 2025 and deliver long-term value for all our stakeholders. Thanks to the team, and now I'll turn it to Heath to discuss details of Q1.