Colonial Properties Trust Announces Public Offering of 4,500,000 Common Shares.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP), a diversified real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties, announced today that it is planning to sell 4,500,000 newly issued common shares in an underwritten public offering pursuant to its effective shelf registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The underwriters will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 675,000 shares to cover over-allotments, if any.

The joint book-running managers for this offering are Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wachovia Securities. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. is acting as a senior co-manager for the offering and Banc of America Securities LLC, Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated are acting as co-managers. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from the offices of Merrill Lynch & Co., 4 World Financial Center, New York, NY 10080, from the offices of Wachovia Securities, Attn: Prospectus Department, 7 St. Paul Street, 1st Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202 or from the offices of any of the other underwriters identified above.

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that state.

About Colonial Properties Trust

Colonial Properties Trust, through its subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties where you live, work and shop in the Sunbelt. Colonial Properties Trust performs development, acquisition, management, leasing and brokerage services for its portfolio and properties owned by third parties. The company has a total market capitalization of approximately $5.5 billion. As of July 28, the company owned or managed 47,700 apartment units, 8.3 million square feet of office space and 13.5 million square feet of retail shopping space. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., Colonial Properties is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CLP and is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. For more information, visit www.colonialprop.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Factors that impact such forward looking statements include, among others, real estate conditions and markets; performance of affiliates or companies in which we have made investments; changes in operating costs; legislative or regulatory decisions; our ability to continue to maintain our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; the cost and availability of new debt financings; volatility of interest rates or capital market conditions; effect of any terrorist activity; or other factors affecting the real estate industry generally.

Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, the company assumes no liability to update the information in this press release.

The company refers you to the documents filed by the company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled "Business-Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, which discuss these and other factors that could adversely affect the company's results.