Colonial Properties Trust Leases 94,000 SF in Colonial Brookwood Center to Southern Natural Gas.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP) announced it has leased approximately 94,000 square feet of space in Colonial Brookwood Center in Homewood, Ala., to Southern Natural Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP).

Southern Natural Gas will relocate September 1 from Birmingham's Regions Bank Building, formerly known as the AmSouth/Sonat Tower, to Colonial Brookwood Center, which is part of a mixed-use development that also includes Colonial Brookwood Village. The move allows Southern Natural Gas to keep its headquarters and approximately 250 employees in the most efficient and technologically advanced office space the Birmingham metro area offers.

Colonial Properties began construction of Colonial Brookwood Center in the second quarter of 2006 with approximately 45,000 square feet leased to Birmingham law firm Johnston Barton. The five-story, 160,000-square-foot Class-A building will feature 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, covered parking and access to suburban residential areas such as Mountain Brook, Vestavia and Homewood. Colonial Properties expects to complete the building in July. Colonial Brookwood Center is now fully leased.

"Today, corporate America seeks a High Performance Workplace[TM] that offers efficient, high-tech, collaborative office space in a mixed-use environment," said Kyle Collins, senior vice president of Colonial Properties' Office Division. "Clients such as Southern Natural Gas and Johnston Barton add momentum to Colonial Properties' efforts to establish new urbanism in the communities we call home."

About Colonial Properties Trust

Colonial Properties Trust, through its subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties throughout 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 $5.6 billion. As of September 30, 2006 the company owns or manages 46,125 apartment units, 17.7 million square feet of office space and 12.1 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 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, 2005, which discuss these and other factors that could adversely affect the Company's results.