Cousins Restructures Lease with Mirant; Bankruptcy Court Filing Finalizes Three-Year Deal for 216,000 Square Feet in Atlanta's 1155 Perimeter Center West.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2004

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) announced today that it and an institutional investor partner have reached an agreement with Mirant (MIRKQ) to restructure the energy company's lease at 1155 Perimeter Center West, a 363,000-square-foot office building in suburban Atlanta. The lease amendment - which has been submitted for approval to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District in Fort Worth, Texas - reduces Mirant's space obligation from 363,000 to approximately 216,000 square feet and shortens the lease term to three years. The 216,000 square feet includes a specialized 67,000-square-foot trading floor and data center, which was specially developed for Mirant, and consolidates the company's operations into the building's first six floors.

The lease calls for a net rental rate of $10 per square foot in the first year, $10.50 per square foot in the second and $11 per square foot in the third, and includes no tenant improvement allowance and a reduced broker commission. These terms are economically equivalent to the tenant paying a $14.50-per-square-foot rental rate in the first year, escalated by $.50 each year, with the tenant receiving market tenant improvement allowance and with the partners paying full broker commission.

The lease amendment also includes an agreement that Cousins and its partner will be entitled to an allowed pre-petition general unsecured claim in bankruptcy in the amount of $16.725 million.

"It's been a long process but we are very happy that we've been able to find a solution that serves both Mirant's and ownership's current needs," said Craig Jones, president of Cousins' Office Division. "With this lease, we were able to secure a tenant for three years with no significant out of pocket costs and leave the most desirable floors in the building available for new tenants. We think the office market will be significantly stronger in three years and hopefully during that time Mirant will establish itself as a candidate for market-rate renewal. In addition, the three years gives us time to examine additional ways to reposition the project."

Cousins developed 1155 Perimeter Center West as the headquarters for Mirant predecessor Southern Energy Inc. and completed the project in 2000. Cousins shares ownership in the building with an institutional investor.

Cousins Properties Incorporated, headquartered in Atlanta, has extensive experience in the real estate industry, including the development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing of properties. The property types that Cousins actively invests in include office, retail, medical office and land development projects. The Company's portfolio consists of interests in 13.9 million square feet of office and medical office space, 2.1 million square feet of retail space and more than 250 acres of strategically located land for future commercial development. Cousins also provides leasing and management services to third-party investors; its client-services portfolio comprises 6.3 million square feet of office 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 please visit 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 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 Form 8-K filed on December 10, 2003. 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.