CUZ Cousins Properties Inc

The Forest Park/Fort Gillem Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) today announced it has selected Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ), LNR Property Corporation�s Commercial Property Group and The Benham Cos. as the master development team for the $750 million redevelopment of Fort Gillem, a 1,427-acre military base in suburban Atlanta. The team will redevelop approximately 1,200 acres and the U.S. Army will keep the remaining 200-plus acres. The redevelopment is expected to take 10 to 15 years to complete. The LRA and its redevelopment team have spent more than 15 months creating and refining the strategic reuse plan and holding public meetings. Once redeveloped, the site is anticipated to include 717 single- and multi-family residential units; 435,000 square feet of retail space; more than 1 million square feet of office space; more than 8.2 million square feet of light manufacturing and warehouse distribution space; and more than 200 acres of green space. �We have been interested in Fort Gillem�s future for more than three years and we are very proud our team was selected to lead the redevelopment,� said Forrest Robinson, president of Cousins� Industrial Division. �We are also very pleased to be associated with LNR Property Corporation, a national leader in military base redevelopment, and The Benham Cos., which is also very experienced with this type of project.� Upon completion, the redeveloped base will add 25 to 30 percent more land to the city of Forest Park and approximately $243 million in new real property taxes to the area. The project is expected to generate 4,700 new construction jobs and 17,642 permanent jobs. �The city of Forest Park went into this process looking for partners with the strategic vision and practical skills to deliver on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change our city,� said Fred Bryant, executive director of the Forest Park/Fort Gillem LRA. �Combining Cousins� deep local history and development knowledge with LNR Property Corporation�s and The Benham Cos.� extensive experience in redeveloping military bases gives us the right team to reclaim our city�s future.� LNR Property Corporation has redeveloped more than 7,000 acres on military bases nationwide. Its military base realignment experience includes Mare Island, Southfield, Heritage Fields, Meridian and Hunter�s Point Naval Shipyard. �LNR Property Corporation�s experience with realigning military bases, combined with Cousins Properties� thorough knowledge of the area, creates a dream team to complete this project,� said David Welch, president-Mid-Atlantic Region for LNR Property Corporation�s Commercial Property Group. As part of BRAC 2005, the Independent BRAC Commission recommended closing Fort Gillem. The U.S. Army must transfer 1,190 acres of the base to the LRA and its master developer team by September 15, 2011. Certain parts of the base may be turned over earlier and work may begin as soon as 2009. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, LNR Property Corporation�s Commercial Property Group (LNR CPG) is a market leader in the master planning and development of commercial properties in the United States. LNR CPG invests in large commercial developments and redevelopment transactions that range in size from $10 million to more than $100 million. Supported by 15 offices across the United States, LNR CPG has been responsible for the successful development, redevelopment and repositioning of more than 1,000 properties in 33 states during the last 15 years. Its expertise extends to a range of property types including office, industrial, retail, apartments, hotels, land and military base reuse. LNR CPG is part of LNR Property Corporation, a $3 billion private company headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida, with operations in the United States and in Europe. Additional information about LNR CPG is available at www.lnrcpg.com. Benham, a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corp. [NYSE: SAI], provides integrated architectural design, engineering, procurement and construction services for a broad spectrum of industries and facilities, delivering end-to-end solutions for federal government and Fortune 500� commercial customers. Cousins Properties Incorporated, headquartered in Atlanta, has extensive experience in the real estate industry including the development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing of properties. The property types that Cousins actively invests in include office, multi-family, retail, industrial and land development projects. The Company�s portfolio consists of interests in 7.7 million square feet of office space, 4.8 million square feet of retail space, 2.0 million square feet of industrial space, 737 for-sale units in three under-development multi-family projects, 24 residential communities under development, over 9,100 acres of strategically located land tracts, and significant land holdings for development of single-family residential communities. The Company also provides leasing and management services to third-party investors; its client-services portfolio comprises 13.1 million square feet of office and retail space. The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been public since 1962 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol �CUZ.� For more information on the Company, please visit its Web site at www.cousinsproperties.com. Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, general and local economic conditions, local real estate conditions (including the overall condition of the residential market), the activity of others developing competitive projects, the risks associated with development projects (such as delay, cost overruns and leasing/sales risk of new properties), the cyclical nature of the real estate industry, the financial condition of existing tenants, interest rates, the Company�s ability to obtain favorable financing or zoning, environmental matters, the effects of terrorism, the ability of the Company to close properties under contract and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company�s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company�s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. The words �believes�, �expects�, �anticipates�, �estimates� and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.