Cousins and Lumbermen's Investment Corporation Kick Off Four Texas Developments.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2003

CL Realty begins projects totaling more than 2,500 acres

and containing nearly 6,000 single-family lots

CL Realty, a joint venture of Cousins Real Estate Corporation and Austin, Texas-based Lumbermen's Investment Corporation, is developing four projects totaling more than 2,500 acres in the Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston areas. The Dallas-Ft. Worth projects - Summer Creek Ranch and the next phases of two existing communities, Hidden Lakes and Stillwater Canyon - along with Long Meadow Farms near Houston, mark the first developments for the CL Realty venture, which was formed late last year. Cousins Real Estate Corporation (CREC) is a subsidiary of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ).

"These Texas projects are a great beginning for the CL Realty venture," said Bruce Smith, president of Cousins' Land Division. "Cousins is fortunate to have a partner like Lumbermen's, with its 10-plus years of successful community development in Texas. Lumbermen's land holdings and Texas development experience paired with Cousins' development expertise should produce results similar to our Bentwater development in Atlanta, which is one of the metro area's top-selling communities."

Infrastructure work has begun and homebuilders have been selected at all four projects. Lumbermen's previously owned the land for the three Dallas-Ft. Worth projects. Long Meadow Farms' landowners and Houston-based Trend Development are partners with CL Realty in the Houston project.

Summer Creek Ranch is a 1,200-acre master-planned community in Tarrant County and is slated to contain 2,828 single-family lots, 90 acres of commercial tracts, an elementary school and high school, 50 acres of multifamily development, several parks and other amenities, and a 30-acre tract for a state-planned toll road. The 32-acre Hidden Lakes project, also in Tarrant County, is one of the last phases of an 800-acre master planned community and will contain 89 single-family lots. Plans for new development at Stillwater Canyon, in Dallas County, call for 336 single-family lots.

"Each of the Dallas-Ft. Worth-area communities is located in a premier public school district and each has the added advantage of an established successful builder program because of earlier development at the projects," Smith added. "And our Tarrant County projects also benefit from the area's tremendous defense industry-related job growth."

Located in suburban Houston, Long Meadow Farms is a 1,190-acre mixed-use project with residential and commercial components. The development is planned for 2,730 single-family lots, with 100 acres for commercial development and 221 acres allotted for parks and other greenspace initiatives.

"Houston is home to a number of successful master-planned projects and our location west of the city puts the Long Meadow Farms project in a primary growth area. Combine those factors with the outstanding access provided by the planned Westpark Tollway and the result should be a highly successful development," Smith said. "Plus, having the landowners as a partner in the project substantially reduces our investment risk."

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 14.2 million square feet of office and medical office space, 3.3 million square feet of retail space and more than 300 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 6.1 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, interest rates, the Company's ability to obtain favorable financing, 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 March 9, 2001. The words "believes," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 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.