Cousins Properties Announces Retirement of Founder and Chairman Thomas G. Cousins.

Current President and CEO Tom Bell Will Become Chairman on December 7

ATLANTA -- Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) announced today that Founder and Chairman Thomas G. Cousins will retire, effective December 7, becoming Chairman Emeritus of Cousins Properties Incorporated. Tom Bell, currently President and Chief Executive Officer, will also assume the role of Chairman upon Mr. Cousins' retirement.

In 1958, Tom Cousins founded Cousins Properties Incorporated as a homebuilder in Atlanta, Georgia. Forty-eight years later, Cousins Properties has developed more than 35 million square feet of commercial space and more than 50 residential neighborhoods during Mr. Cousins' chairmanship and is generally regarded as one of the country's premier real estate development companies. Mr. Cousins retired as Chief Executive Officer in January 2002 and Mr. Bell succeeded him in that role.

"On December 7, I will be 75 years old and will have been chairman of Cousins Properties for 48 wonderful years. Now it's time for me to move into a new role," Mr. Cousins said. "Tom Bell and his team have done a great job running the Company for the past five years, and I have great confidence in the continued success of the Company under their leadership."

Mr. Cousins added, "I am still the largest shareholder in Cousins Properties and that won't change, so my interest in the Company and its progress will naturally be quite significant. That said, I'm looking forward to the freedom and flexibility my new role as Chairman Emeritus will allow."

Mr. Bell said, "This is a bittersweet announcement for me. Tom Cousins has spent the majority of his life building one of the finest real estate companies in the world and he remains one of the sharpest real estate minds in the country. I'm delighted he will remain with us as Chairman Emeritus and will still be available to offer advice and counsel to the Cousins team in that capacity.

"Tom is a great man and a great friend, who has made enormous contributions to our company and community. I'm confident he will continue to do so for many years to come," Mr. Bell added.

Cousins Properties Incorporated, headquartered in Atlanta, has extensive experience in the real estate industry including development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing. Cousins actively invests in office, multi-family, retail, industrial and land development projects. The Company's portfolio consists of interests in 7.3 million square feet of office space, 4.2 million square feet of retail space, 2 million square feet of industrial space, one multi-family residential project and 23 single-family neighborhood developments, over 9,200 acres of strategically located land tracts for sale or future development, and significant land holdings for development of single-family residential communities. Cousins also provides leasing and management services to third-party investors; its client-services portfolio comprises 14.9 million square feet of office and retail space. Cousins is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been public since 1962 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CUZ." For more information on the Company, please visit Cousins' Web site at www.cousinsproperties.com.

Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, general and local economic conditions, local real estate conditions, the activity of others developing competitive projects, the cyclical nature of the real estate industry, the financial condition of existing tenants, interest rates, the Company's ability to obtain favorable financing or zoning, environmental matters, the effects of terrorism, the failure of assets under contract for sale to ultimately close and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. The words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.