Jun 29, 2006 8:41 AM, from staff and wire reports

Atlas Cold Storage Income Trust's Chicago IL cold storage facility has been sold for about $15.7 million. The company will tally net gains of around $3.7 million from the sale of this discontinued operation.

David Williamson, president and chief executive officer, said, "We have now sold four facilities pursuant to our announced plan to optimize our asset base and use the proceeds to reduce debt by at least $50 million. With the completion of the Chicago sale, we have now exceeded this target with total net proceeds of approximately $62 million through this initiative.”

In Rexdale, Ontario, Atlas has begun operating a 2.9 million-cubic-foot cold storage center, which was leased to the firm for five years with an option for renewal.