Barclays Global Investors to Anchor Equity Office's Foundry Square I Development; Full-Building Lease is Third Largest in the History of San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Equity Office announced today that it will develop Foundry Square I, a 10-story office building comprising approximately 335,000 square feet in downtown San Francisco as the new global headquarters for Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

The new building will be located at 400 Howard Street in the city's South of Market submarket. With BGI's 321,545-square-foot, long-term lease, Foundry Square I is 96% leased. Construction is slated to begin in March 2006, and is scheduled for completion by December 2007.

BGI's global headquarters have been in San Francisco since 1971. The firm currently has more than 1,000 employees in San Francisco.

"We've enjoyed exceptionally strong growth in recent years," said Tom Taggart, managing director at BGI. "In an office market with few large-space options--and limited locations with the floor plates required for our business--we faced a significant challenge in relocating. Foundry Square I provides us with a new headquarters that meets our needs, and that will efficiently adapt to our future plans. Our new building will offer excellent identity, efficient operations and market presence. We've been in San Francisco for 35 years, and this project reflects our commitment to the city."

BGI chose the location for its new global headquarters after an extensive review and analysis of current and potential sites in the San Francisco area.

"For more than 15 months, we've extensively analyzed the San Francisco market to find the right location that matched BGI's operational requirements, financial objectives and desire for a high-quality work environment," said John Wittemyer, senior vice president in the San Francisco office of CB Richard Ellis. "Despite a limited inventory of space that suits BGI's needs, we have been able to help them find the perfect home."

Foundry Square I is being specifically designed to meet important business requirements of BGI including large floor plates for trading and other contiguous operations, attractive open meeting spaces and a reliable emergency power supply. The new building will mirror the aesthetics and quality of Foundry Square II and IV, including the same energy conservation technologies.

"We substantially redesigned the building's electrical system and modified operational procedures to meet the unique needs of BGI," said Susan Taymor Sagy, vice president - development for Equity Office. "The building is perfectly suited to meet the demands of BGI by providing large floor plates and an eighth floor sky deck that facilitates the collegial and open environment that was important to BGI."

The BGI name will be prominently featured on Foundry Square I. Building plans also include ground floor retail space, parking for more than 270 vehicles and will feature dramatic interior architecture with ceiling heights of more than 12 feet. Foundry Square I will also have the convenience of a single elevator bank serving all floors. Located near major freeways, the South of Market area provides excellent access to the Bay Bridge and East Bay, as well as easy access to the Peninsula.

"We expect Foundry Square I to be a signature property on San Francisco's skyline," commented Mark Geisreiter, Equity Office's senior vice president of the San Francisco Region." We are pleased to begin this relationship with BGI, and look forward to a long and successful partnership."

Equity Office's investment strategy includes developing Class A office projects in the company's targeted growth markets, where it owns a large concentration of properties, and where the company can leverage size and scale on its customers' behalf. Since 2000, Equity Office has developed approximately 5.4 million square feet across the county. Currently, the company has more than 1.4 million square feet under development.

Equity Office's west coast development team, led by Susan Taymor Sagy, will develop the project. The development team also includes STUDIOS Architecture and Webcor Builders.

Stuart Eisenkraft, Jason Gorman, Tim Kazul, Lewis Miller, John Wittemyer and Mike Wellen of CB Richard Ellis represented BGI in this transaction.

About Barclays Global Investors

Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers, (Source: "P&I/Watson Wyatt World 500," Pensions & Investments, September 5, 2005.) providing structured investment strategies such as risk-controlled active strategies and indexing. In the U.S., BGI is one of the largest active managers (Source: "Special Reports: Money Manager Directory," Pensions & Investments, May 30, 2005.), set apart by its risk-controlled approach. BGI manages 65% of the world's 100 largest pension plans (Source: "P&I/Watson Wyatt World's 250 Largest Retirement Plans," Pensions & Investments, December 27, 2004) and is the global leader in assets and products in the exchange traded funds (ETFs) through its iShares(R) brand with more than 130 ETFs. The firm managed over $1.4 trillion in assets as of 6/30/05, for more than 2,700 clients in 48 countries around the world. BGI is an innovator in investment management, applying science and technology to the investment process. BGI is owned by Barclays PLC, one of the world's leading global financial services providers.

About Equity Office

Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE:EOP), operating through its various subsidiaries and affiliates, is the nation's largest publicly held office building owner and manager with a total office portfolio of 626 buildings comprising 112.4 million square feet in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Equity Office has an ownership presence in 24 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and in 103 submarkets, enabling it to provide a wide range of office solutions for local, regional and national customers. For more company information visit the Equity Office website at http://www.equityoffice.com

About CB Richard Ellis

CB Richard Ellis (NYSE:CBG), a FORTUNE 1000 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world's leading commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2004 revenue). The company serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers by offering strategic advice and execution for property leasing and sales; property, facilities and project management; corporate services; debt and equity financing; investment management; valuation and appraisal; research and investment strategy; and consulting. Including partners and affiliates, the company has over 300 offices in more than 50 countries around the world. Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.

Forward - Looking Statements

This document includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's present expectations and beliefs about future events. As with any projection or forecast, these statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such forward-looking statements and that should be considered in evaluating this document and the outlook of Equity Office include, but are not limited to, changes in economic, business and competitive conditions and other factors affecting the operation of the business of Equity Office.

These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Equity Office's filings with the SEC, including the Form 8-K filed on May 20, 2005. Equity Office is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changes, new information, subsequent events or otherwise.