RE Trust Mulling Restructuring as REIT

American Community Properties Trust, St. Charles, Md., has announced that a special committee of its board is exploring the possibility of restructuring the company so that it may elect to be treated as a real estate investment trust. The move was recommended by the family of J. Michael Wilson, the company's chairman and chief executive, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing indicates that the Wilson family "believes that the company's two distinct lines of business (i.e., its multifamily and commercial rental properties and its community development and homebuilding business) may limit the company's growth potential, and may be deterring potential acquirers and investors," the company said. The Wilson family has proposed to separate the company's development assets from its rental properties and to revamp its capital structure to allow the rental properties to be held in a REIT. The company can be found online at http://www.acptrust.com.