Columbia Property Trust Executes Growth Strategy with $229 Million Acquisition in San Francisco’s Financial District

Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CXP) announced that it has acquired 221 Main Street, a 16-story, 387,943-square-foot, LEED® Platinum Class-A office tower in San Francisco, California, for a total purchase price of $228.8 million.

The purchase price includes the Company’s assumption of a $73.0 million interest-only loan secured by the property that matures in May 2017 and bears interest at 3.95%. The $155.8 million cash portion of the purchase price was funded from the Company’s $500 million unsecured credit facility and cash on hand. The acquisition is expected to increase Columbia’s leverage (based on debt to gross real estate assets) from 29.3% at the end of the first quarter to approximately 31.5%.

Located in the Spear Street corridor of downtown San Francisco’s South Financial District, 221 Main Street is currently 81% occupied and is expected to have first-year in-place net operating income (NOI) of approximately $7 million. With excellent Bay Bridge and Embarcadero views and proximity to the Transbay Transit Center project, 221 Main Street offers large, highly-efficient floor plates and attractive on-site amenities.

“San Francisco is an important market for us, and over the last two years we have worked to carefully identify acquisitions that could meet our stringent underwriting criteria,” said Nelson Mills, President, CEO and Director of Columbia Property Trust. “221 Main Street offers a compelling opportunity to expand in one of the better performing submarkets in the country, at a substantial discount to replacement cost. With current vacancy and nearly one-third of the space rolling over before 2017 at in-place rents significantly below market, utilizing our leasing expertise should allow us to substantially increase the NOI from this property over the next three years.

“Our 2014 objectives call for adding a growth layer of value-add and core-plus acquisitions in select primary markets to what we believe is one of the stronger office portfolios in the country. The acquisition of 221 Main Street meets these objectives and plays to our strengths by increasing an existing presence in San Francisco, providing an opportunity to leverage demonstrated leasing capabilities, and further concentrating the overall portfolio in CBD markets and multi-tenant office buildings. As expected, the flexibility on our balance sheet enabled us to move quickly, accommodate the loan assumption, and still remain at one of the lowest leverage profiles in our sector.”

About Columbia Property Trust

One of the nation’s largest office REITs, Columbia Property Trust invests in high-quality commercial office properties in primary markets nationwide and has achieved an investment-grade rating from both Moody's and Standard & Poor’s rating services. Columbia Property Trust's portfolio includes 44 properties, consisting of 60 operational buildings and comprising approximately 17.2 million square feet, located in 13 states and the District of Columbia. For information about Columbia Property Trust, visit www.ColumbiaPropertyTrust.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release other than historical facts may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend for all such forward-looking statements to be covered by the applicable safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in those acts. Such statements include, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies, guidance, and prospects and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Therefore, such statements are not intended to be a guarantee of our performance in future periods. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We make no representations or warranties (express or implied) about the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and we do not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors and are based on a number of assumptions involving judgments with respect to, among other things, future economic, competitive, and market conditions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately. To the extent that our assumptions differ from actual conditions, our ability to accurately anticipate results expressed in such forward-looking statements, including our ability to generate positive cash flow from operations, make distributions to stockholders, and maintain the value of our real estate properties, may be significantly hindered. See Item 1A in the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 for a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented in our forward-looking statements. The risk factors described in our Annual Report are not the only ones we face, but do represent those risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also harm our business.

Columbia Property Trust, Inc.James A. Fleming, 404-465-2126EVP – Chief Financial OfficerorCorporate Communications, Inc.Tripp Sullivan, 615-324-7335tripp.sullivan@cci-ir.com

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