American Realty Elects Blaha as Chairman, CEO; Bagley Remains on Board, Mizrachi Named as New Director


DALLAS, June 26, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- American Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ARB) announced Monday that its Board of Directors elected American Realty President, Karl L. Blaha, to the additional positions of chairman and CEO, effective June 24, 2000. Blaha, 52, succeeded Paul Bagley, who remained on the board.

The ART directors appointed Mr. Blaha due to his significant experience in the commercial real estate industry and his familiarity with American Realty's portfolio of real estate and equity investments. Blaha has served as an officer of ART since 1992 and also currently serves as president of Basic Capital Management, Inc.; Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. (AMEX:IOT) and Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc. (NYSE:TCI). He also is a director and president of NRLP Management Corp., the general partner of National Realty, L.P. (AMEX:NLP), and a wholly owned subsidiary of American Realty.

The ART directors also named Joseph Mizrachi, 54, to serve on the board of the real estate company. Mr. Mizrachi is an investment advisor engaged in capital funding and buyouts of smaller companies, a principal and president of PAZ Securities, Inc. and a registered securities broker. He also is chairman of the board of Third Millenium Properties, Inc., a real estate management firm.

Dallas-based American Realty Trust, Inc. owns a diverse portfolio of properties located across the United States, as well as interests in mortgage loans and stock holdings in real estate related entities. For more information on the company, go to the Investor Data page of its web site at www.amrealtytrust.com.

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