EXHIBIT 99.1


                                  NEWS RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
David H. Hoster II, President and Chief Executive Officer
N. Keith McKey, Chief Financial Officer
(601) 354-3555


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            EASTGROUP PROPERTIES APPOINTS MARY BETH SHANAHAN TO BOARD
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JACKSON,  MISSISSIPPI,  June 2, 2005 -- EastGroup  Properties,  Inc.  (NYSE-EGP)
announced today that it has appointed Mary Beth Shanahan,  who recently  retired
from the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), to the Company's Board
of Directors and as a member of the Board's Audit Committee.

     At OPERS, Ms. Shanahan was most recently  responsible for directing the $64
billion fund's real estate investments  including  large-scale  initiatives in a
variety of property types and  transaction  structures as well as oversight of a
$1.3 billion internally  managed REIT portfolio.  Ms. Shanahan's career at OPERS
spanned 16 years during which time her  responsibilities  included portfolio and
asset  management,  property and portfolio level  budgeting,  systems design and
financial reporting.

     In addition to her role at OPERS,  Ms.  Shanahan  has served in  leadership
positions  on a variety  of  national  and  regional  real  estate  associations
including Pension Real Estate Association (Chair), Urban Land Institute (Council
Vice-Chair),  National  Association of Real Estate  Investment  Trusts (Board of
Governors),   National   Council   of   Real   Estate   Investment   Fiduciaries
(Chair-Portfolio Management Committee) and Columbus Commercial Real Estate Women
(President).  Ms. Shanahan received both Master of Business  Administration  and
Bachelor of Science  degrees  from Ohio State  University.  She is a resident of
Columbus, Ohio.

     In commenting on the appointment,  D. Pike Aloian,  chairman of EastGroup's
Nominating  and  Corporate   Governance  Committee  stated,  "The  Directors  of
EastGroup are very pleased to welcome Mary Beth Shanahan to the Company's Board.
Mary Beth's candor,  broad real estate experience and  institutional  investment
perspective   are   expected  to  add  further   dimension   to  the   Company's
decision-making and governance in the years ahead."

     EastGroup  Properties,  Inc.  is a  self-administered  equity  real  estate
investment  trust  focused on the  development,  acquisition  and  operation  of
industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with
special  emphasis in the states of Arizona,  California,  Florida and Texas. Its
strategy  for  growth  is based on its  property  portfolio  orientation  toward
premier business  distribution  facilities  clustered near major  transportation
features. EastGroup's portfolio currently includes 21.3 million square feet with
an additional 636,000 square feet of properties under development.

     EastGroup    Properties,    Inc.    press   releases   are   available   at
www.eastgroup.net.

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                      P.O. BOX 22728 JACKSON, MS 39225-2728
                       TEL: 601-354-3555 FAX: 601-352-1441