Cousins and Myers Close on One Second Street.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1999--

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) and Myers Development Company today announced the acquisition of the One Second Street development site from Jaymont Properties for $22 million. The project will be owned by Cousins/Myers II, LLC, a venture between Cousins Properties Incorporated and Myers Bay Area Company, LLC. The 25,776-square-foot property is located on Second Street between Market and Mission Streets and is fully entitled for 373,500 rentable square feet of office and retail development. Discussions are underway with a major anchor tenant. The project will commence construction upon the satisfaction of the venture's preleasing requirement for the project.

The planned 25-story Class A office building will be designed by Heller Manus Architects and is expected to cost approximately $113 million. This follows Cousins/Myers strategic approach of providing high quality office space at competitive rates as an alternative to rising CBD occupancy costs. The project will be constructed by Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company and will be leased by CB Richard Ellis. Myers Development Company will provide development management services required throughout design, construction and tenant improvement phases of the building. Cousins Properties will jointly develop the project and will provide building management services upon completion.

"This closing culminates 11 months of underwriting a development we believe will provide an attractive option for tenants facing steep rental rate hikes as San Francisco's office market demand continues to tap a very limited supply of quality space," said Jack Myers, chief executive officer of Myers Development Company.

"This is another exciting strategic opportunity for Cousins to expand in the San Francisco office market, which is among the healthiest in the country," said Daniel M. DuPree, Cousins' president and chief operating officer. "As with our 101 Second Street project, we expect strong tenant demand and will proceed when the building is significantly preleased."

101 Second Street is a 390,000-rentable-square-foot office development located at the southeast corner of Mission and Second Streets. 101 Second Street will be completed a month ahead of schedule later this month with initial occupancy by Arthur Andersen and Thelen Reid & Priest by December 1, 1999.

Jack Myers, owner of Myers Development Company, has developed over $850 million of real estate in California and Hawaii since 1974. His developments include office building, hotel, golf course, residential, shopping center and industrial properties.

Cousins Properties Incorporated 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 more than 11.3 million square feet of office space, 3.7 million square feet of retail space and 1.0 million square feet of medical office space. Based in Atlanta, Cousins is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been publicly held since 1962 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CUZ."