CUZ Cousins Properties Inc

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) announced today two restaurant leases at Terminus 200, the under-construction 25-story, 565,000 square-foot office building in Cousins� Terminus development in Atlanta�s Buckhead submarket. Two Texas-based restaurants, III Forks and Cantina Laredo, have signed leases for locations at Terminus 200 when it opens in 2009. Both III Forks Prime Steakhouse and Cantina Laredo will be new to the Atlanta market. Both restaurants are owned by Dallas-based Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO). III Forks is an all-prime steakhouse with existing locations in Dallas, Austin and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Cantina Laredo offers gourmet Mexican dining with 24 locations in eight states. �Much of what makes Terminus more than simply an office or residential project is the vibrant atmosphere created by our diverse restaurant lineup. Adding III Forks and Cantina Laredo to the project makes Terminus a one-of-a-kind dining destination in Atlanta,� said Larry Gellerstedt, executive vice president and chief development officer for Cousins. CRO Chief Executive Officer John D. Harkey, Jr. said, �We are extremely excited to serve the Atlanta market. Buckhead is one of the most robust dining and entertainment areas in the country. Terminus 200 is the perfect setting to launch Cantina Laredo, serving gourmet Mexican food, along with our prime steakhouse, III Forks.� III Forks and Cantina Laredo will join a host of other destination restaurants at Terminus, including AquaKnox, BrickTops, The Flying Biscuit Caf�, LOLA Bellini Bar & Restaurant and MF Buckhead. In recent months, Terminus has received additional restaurant commitments from Chick-fil-A and Dressed, a new specialty salad restaurant. Terminus 200 is the newest phase of the 10-acre Terminus development, which includes the signature Terminus 100 office building and 10 Terminus Place, the first Terminus residential tower, set to open this summer. Terminus 200 is being developed by a joint venture of Cousins and Prudential Real Estate Investors. Cantina Laredo and III Forks are part of Dallas-based Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO) which operates and franchises 117 restaurants in 12 states, employs 6,000 and has system wide sales of approximately $250 million. CRO also operates and franchises Silver Fox, Cool River, El Chico, Good Eats and Lucky�s. www.croinc.com. CRC is one of the largest private companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (home to more than 16 "Fortune 500" companies and 4.8 million residents). Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008, Cousins Properties Incorporated is a leading diversified real estate company with extensive experience in development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing. Based in Atlanta, the Company actively invests in office, multi-family, retail, industrial and land development projects. Since its founding, Cousins has developed 20 million square feet of office space, 20 million square feet of retail space, more than 4,000 multi-family units and more than 60 single-family neighborhoods. The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUZ. For more, please visit 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, the activity of others developing competitive projects, 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 failure of assets under contract for sale to ultimately close and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. 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.