TRZ Trizec Properties

Trizec Properties, Inc. (NYSE:TRZ) today announced that a joint venture partnership between Trizec and Principal Real Estate Investors acquired the Victor Building, a fully occupied 343,000-square-foot office property located at 750 Ninth Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., for $157.5 million. Trizec and Principal have a 49.9% and 50.1% respective ownership interest in the joint venture. Trizec will manage and lease the property on behalf of the joint venture. Completed in 2000, the Victor Building is a nine-story, Class A property located in the East End submarket of Washington's central core. The building's exterior finishes include natural stone, concrete and brick with punched windows to blend with the retained historic facade. The lobby interior is finished in high quality natural stone, brass and wood paneling. The property offers spectacular views from the upper floors of the Washington Monument, the Old Post Office Pavilion, and the Washington, D.C. skyline. The property also includes four levels of underground parking that provides 238 spaces. The entire 321,000 square feet office component is currently leased to The Smithsonian Institution, of which, approximately 213,000 square feet is scheduled to expire in late 2006. The Smithsonian Institution will continue to occupy the building's second through fourth floors, representing approximately 30% of the property, on a long-term basis through 2020. Tim Callahan, Trizec's President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "The Victor Building is our second acquisition in the vibrant East End submarket this year, a market we believe will continue to thrive. We are pleased to have acquired this property with a quality institutional partner such as Principal Real Estate Investors and as we look at other investment opportunities, it is a model we would like to employ with greater frequency." Brian Lipson, Trizec's Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer added, "With high-quality construction and a prime location near the MCI Center and the bustling 9th Street corridor that offers numerous shops, restaurants, hotels and public transportation options, the Victor Building fits very well with our portfolio strategy. The East End office market has excellent and continuing momentum and we look forward to capturing additional value from the lease up of the top floors of the property." Trizec Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Chicago, is one of the largest owners and operators of commercial office properties in the United States. The Company has ownership interests in and manages a high-quality portfolio of 50 office properties totaling approximately 37 million square feet concentrated in the metropolitan areas of seven major U.S. cities. Including the Victor Building, Trizec's 4.3 million-square-foot portfolio in the Washington, D.C. metro area includes 9 premier office buildings totaling 2.1 million square feet in the District, along with ten properties located in the Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia markets. Trizec also has an interest in the high-profile Waterview mixed-use development in Rosslyn, Va. The Company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TRZ. For more information, visit Trizec's web site at www.trz.com or call toll free at 1 (800) 891-7017. This release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the federal securities laws, relating to our business and financial outlook which are based on our current expectations, beliefs, projections, forecasts, future plans and strategies, and anticipated events or trends. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. We intend these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance and financial condition, to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts. Instead, such statements reflect estimates and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict or anticipate. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those projected or anticipated in these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the risks described under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in our 2004 Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2005. These factors include, without limitation, the following: changes in national and local economic conditions, including those economic conditions in our seven core markets; the extent, duration and strength of any economic recovery; our ability to maintain occupancy and to timely lease or re-lease office space; the extent of any tenant bankruptcies and insolvencies; our ability to sell our non-core office properties in a timely manner; our ability to acquire office properties selectively in our core markets; our ability to maintain REIT qualification and changes to U.S. tax laws that affect REITs; Canadian tax laws that affect treatment of investment in U.S. real estate companies; the competitive environment in which we operate; the cost and availability of debt and equity financing; the effect of any impairment charges associated with changes in market conditions; the sale or other disposition of shares of our common stock owned by Trizec Canada Inc.; our ability to obtain, at a reasonable cost, adequate insurance coverage for catastrophic events, such as earthquakes and terrorist acts; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.