Report Provides Impact of AllianceTexas; Study Shows $15.4 Billion Boost to Local Economy from 1990-99.

Business Editors

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2001

Hillwood today released the first comprehensive economic impact report for its 15,000-acre AllianceTexas development in North Texas.

Produced by Insight Research, the report indicates an economic impact from 1990-99 of $15.4 billion. The study also forecasts an impact of an additional $38.5 billion between 2000-2009.

"Our data showed that one in every 14.8 jobs in the Tarrant-Arlington PMSA is directly or indirectly affected by the AllianceTexas development," said Elizabeth Morris, CEO and chief economist of Insight Research. "That means that if AllianceTexas did not exist, then one out of about every 15 jobs in the Tarrant County area would not exist."

AllianceTexas consists of the commerce center of Alliance, the corporate campuses and golf courses of Circle T Ranch and the wired residential community of Heritage. The study also took into account the residential community of Park Glen, in which Hillwood sold its last lot in 2000. AllianceTexas now houses more than 100 companies that have built 19.5 million square feet of space and created more than 20,000 jobs.

"Previously the 27:1 ratio between private dollars ($4.2 billion) and public dollars ($152 million) invested in AllianceTexas was the main indicator of what a tremendous public-private partnership the development is," said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties, which oversees AllianceTexas. "Now this report gives a complete look at the impact the development had in its first 10 years and is projected to have over the next decade."

Of the 15,000 acres over a 65 square mile area that make up AllianceTexas, only about 3,800 acres have been developed. Over the next decade, AllianceTexas will offer a wide array of real estate options with the best in education and recreation all tied together with the latest technology.

AllianceTexas falls within four cities (Fort Worth, Haslet, Roanoke, Westlake), two counties (Denton, Tarrant) and two school districts (Northwest, Keller) in North Texas. In property taxes alone, the area that formerly held ranches and wheat fields that used to generate little or no property taxes now houses companies and other Hillwood-related entities that have paid $42.4 million to the Northwest School District, $24.3 million to the city of Fort Worth, $16.7 million to Tarrant County, $13.4 million to the Keller School District, $2.3 million to Denton County, $1.6 million to the city of Roanoke and $957,000 to the city of Haslet between 1990-99. These increased revenues have played a part in these public entities being able to increase services and raise salaries while in most cases maintaining or decreasing their tax rate. For example the city of Fort Worth has reduced its tax rate each of the past six years.

Since its founding in 1981, Insight Research has become nationally known for its pacesetting analytical approaches in providing economic, employment, tax revenue impact and cost/benefits analysis. The company's client lists includes public and private entities. Insight Research has provided reports for the FDIC, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, the Texas Department of Transportation, seven states, two provinces and more than 130 cities, including Fort Worth, New York, Chicago, Boston, Kansas City, Houston and Miami. The company also has worked with the AllianceTexas-area cities of Denton and Keller. Insight Research clients also include many Fortune 500 companies, such as 3-M, American Express, AT&T, Dell, Federal Express, and Texas Instruments, as well as the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and Major League Baseball.

Hillwood (www.hillwood.com) is one step ahead of a changing world, using technology and innovation to create better places to live, work, learn and play. In addition to AllianceTexas, Hillwood projects include the dynamic 70-acre Victory project that includes American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas; prestigious golf courses in Houston, Los Angeles, Frisco, Texas and Westlake, Texas; residential communities in Dallas-Fort Worth, Maui and on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii; and a resort shopping center in Maui.