Cousins and Matthew Development Start the Avenue Viera.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2003

First Avenue in Florida brings upscale, open-air shopping to Brevard

County; Early commitments include Belk, Rave Theaters,

Abercrombie & Fitch, Jos. A. Bank and Talbots

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) and partner Matthew Development LLC have begun construction on The Avenue Viera, a 415,000-square-foot specialty retail center in Brevard County, Florida. Situated on 58 acres in the 40,000-acre master-planned community of Viera, north of Melbourne on Florida's east coast, The Avenue Viera is 51 percent committed to retailers including Belk, Rave Theaters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Talbots, Jos. A. Bank, Carlton Jewelers and Yankee Candle. The project, expected to open in fall 2004, will ultimately house approximately 85 retailers and restaurants and includes a one-acre, heavily landscaped urban park as its centerpiece.

"This project is special. The early key retailer commitments will ensure that the center appeals to a broad range of Brevard County residents, offering not only great shopping but also entertainment, dining and even an urban park," said Joel Murphy, president of Cousins' Retail Division. "An important part of our Avenue concept is becoming an integral part of our surrounding community and The Avenue Viera will seek to meet that goal, giving friends a place to meet for lunch or dinner, giving families a place to spend an afternoon or evening and giving the community a place to gather."

Noted for its pedestrian-friendly nature, extensive landscaping and distinctive architecture, The Avenue places traditional mall merchants in upscale, open-air centers alongside select local merchants and specialty restaurants. The Avenue Viera is Cousins' fifth Avenue project, joining three suburban Atlanta Avenues - The Avenue East Cobb, The Avenue Peachtree City and The Avenue West Cobb - and The Avenue of the Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates (LA County), California.

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 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 6.3 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.