Colonial Properties Trust Completes Joint Venture of Six Regional Malls.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP), a diversified real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties, today announced the sale of six of its regional malls on November 23 to a joint venture partnership in which the company will retain a 10 percent minority interest in the properties as well as the management and leasing responsibility. Colonial Properties' partner, a joint venture between The GPT Group (GPT) and Babcock & Brown, will own the remaining 90 percent. The GPT Group, one of Australia's largest property groups and Babcock & Brown, a global investment and advisory company, are both listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The total sales price was $362 million and the joint venture financed the transaction with approximately $284 million of secured debt. The financing package also contained an additional $38 million of secured debt which is expected to be used for redevelopment and re-leasing efforts.

Net proceeds to Colonial Properties total approximately $350 million. Approximately $90 million will be reinvested and the remaining proceeds will be used to reduce borrowings under the company's unsecured line of credit.

"This substantially completes the company's objective to reposition our retail portfolio to open-air shopping centers, reducing the net operating income from our mall assets from 31 percent in 2004 to approximately four percent in 2006," said Charles Light, executive vice-president of Colonial Properties' retail division. "While we have reduced our focus on malls, we expect to increase our exposure to the retail sector in open-air shopping centers through development. The Babcock & Brown/GPT joint venture has a diverse geographic and property sector investment mandate which makes it a logical strategic partner for Colonial Properties in future acquisitions of open-air retail properties." Mr. Light said.

The malls, representing 3.7 million square feet of retail shopping space, include Colonial Mall Myrtle Beach, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Colonial Mall Greenville, in Greenville, N.C.; Colonial Mall Bel Air, in Mobile, Ala.; Colonial Mall Valdosta, in Valdosta, Ga.; Colonial Mall Glynn Place, in Brunswick, Ga.; and Colonial University Village in Auburn, Ala.

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 Sept. 30, the company owned or managed 48,112 apartment units, 20.2 million square feet of office space and 13.6 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.

About The GPT Group

Established in 1971, the GPT Group (GPT) is one of Australia's oldest and largest property groups with assets of over $9 billion and an investor base of over 45,000. GPT's assets include quality investment properties located around Australia in the retail, office, industrial, and hotel/tourism sectors.

Other investments include a 50% interest in a joint venture with global investment and advisory firm, Babcock & Brown, which undertakes a broad range of property related activities including investments in a range of European assets. GPT also invests in the development of large-scale master planned urban communities and manages a significant portfolio of retail assets in Australia.

The Group's strategy focuses on creating secure income streams for investors with appropriate management of risk. GPT's capabilities include a full range of property expertise.

About Babcock & Brown

Babcock & Brown, founded in 1977, is a global investment and advisory firm with longstanding capabilities in structured finance and the creation, syndication and management of asset and cash flow-based investments.

Babcock & Brown operates from 18 offices across Australia, the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa and has in excess of 600 employees worldwide. Babcock & Brown has five operating divisions including real estate, infrastructure and project finance, operating leasing, structured finance and corporate finance. The company has established a funds management platform across the operating divisions that has resulted in the establishment of a number of focused investment vehicles in areas including real estate and infrastructure.

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.