PRESS RELEASES

Hines And Prime Asset Management Announce Grand Opening Of Calpine Center. Already At 85% Occupancy, 33-Story Tower Is Latest Addition To Downtown Houston Skyline

Tower Features Environmentally Sensitive Design; Will House Calpine, Burlington Resources, Jones Day, Cheniere Energy and Hines’ Southwest Regional Office

11/9/2003

(Houston, Texas)—Officially marking the latest addition to the Houston skyline, Hines and development partner Prime Asset Management (owner of the nearby JPMorgan Chase Tower) today announced the grand opening of Calpine Center, a 33-story, Class A office tower in the heart of downtown’s lively Theater District. Pre-leased tenants include leading independent power producer Calpine Corporation; Burlington Resources Oil and Gas Company LP; the law firm of Jones Day; Cheniere Energy, Inc; and Hines’ Southwest Region development office.

The tenant leasing representatives included Joe Peddie of Cushman & Wakefield for Calpine; Rob Neblett of Transwestern Commercial Services for Burlington Resources; Peter Speier of Julien J. Studley, Inc. represented Jones Day; and John Richardson of Moody Rambin Interests represented Cheniere Energy, Inc. Turner Construction was the project’s General Contractor.

“Calpine Center was designed with the needs of discerning high-end tenants in mind,” said Hines Executive Vice President Staman Ogilvie. “We’re very pleased to be welcoming such an impressive group of our city’s leading firms to the property. Also this opening is a happy celebration of our two-decade-long cooperation in Houston with Prime Asset Management.”

About Calpine Center

Designed by the Houston office of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, the granite-clad building, directly north of the Jesse H. Jones Center for the Performing Arts, contains 24 floors of office space rising above a nine-story, 950-car enclosed parking structure. A large pedestrian plaza at the corner of Texas and Milam Streets leads to the main entrance foyer and a spacious two-story lobby, incorporating a combination of wood paneling, granite and natural stone with accents of polished metals and glass.

Amenities

Calpine Center’s strong pre-leasing figures back up the building’s excellent location and the array of amenities that it offers. The property features efficient floor plates of 26,500 square feet with 43-foot, column-free spans allowing for space-planning flexibility. Dual telecom risers provide flexibility and redundancy to tenants. Having garage parking within the building offers convenience as it respects the requirements of wise land use. The property will make its own contribution to the attraction-rich theater and Market Square Historic Districts area through the inclusion of a restaurant in the lobby.

The Indoor Environment

Throughout Calpine Center, Hines has worked to enhance the quality and healthfulness of the working environment. Outside air is electrostatically cleansed through a high-efficiency filtration system to eliminate pollutants. A permanent floor-by-floor air quality monitoring and control system monitors supply and return air, and allows for the adjustment of fresh-air volume to minimize carbon dioxide concentration. The project’s design also provides for the treatment of on-floor tenant supply air with ultraviolet light, a new innovation intended to enhance commercial building indoor air quality. Surface treatments, flooring, ceiling tile and other finishing materials were selected based on their use of recycled materials and the low percentage of volatile organic compounds that they contain. Calpine Center’s drinking water system delivers filtered, chilled drinking water to every floor, eliminating the need for bottled water delivery. Finally, floor-to-ceiling windows and airy nine-and-one-half-foot ceilings welcome ample natural light into the building interior—95 percent of the occupied space in the building receives light from outdoors.

“The health and comfort of building occupants were significant emphases in the design and development of Calpine Center,” said Hines Vice President and Project Officer John Mooz. “Our tenants will appreciate the attention that was directed toward the well-being and the productivity of their employees.”

Energy Efficiency

A design maximizing natural light is good for worker productivity, but it has the added benefit of reducing a building’s reliance on artificial lighting. Calpine Center includes Low-E glass in its expansive windows and incorporates a highly energy-efficient curtain-wall system, both of which help to reduce the amount of energy required to maintain appropriate indoor temperatures, regardless of outdoor conditions. Lighting in common areas is controlled by next-generation occupancy sensors and by a digital Building Management System (BMS) that controls lighting levels based on outside lighting conditions and other factors; exit signs throughout Calpine Center use high-efficiency LED illumination.

Calpine Center Reflects an Organization-wide Emphasis

Calpine Center’s environmentally friendly design reflects Hines’ emphasis on successful commercial real estate development executed with environmental responsibility in mind. This focus, combining engineering best practices with significant investment in proven technology, has brought Hines literally scores of ENERGY STAR awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a three-year (2001-2003) honor as the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year. This emphasis has even extended as far as Hines’ Southwest Regional office’s move into Calpine Center—using Rentacrate, Inc.’s sustainable system of reusable moving containers rather than cardboard boxes. Hines’ new regional office was designed by Kirksey, Houston’s leading “green” architecture firm.

“Balancing shorter-term business interests with longer-term environmental sensitivities is a significant element of Hines’ development strategy,” said Hines Senior Vice President Mark Cover. “The recognition that these efforts have garnered from the EPA is a point of great pride for the firm and its leadership.”

About Prime Asset Management

Prime Asset Management is a privately owned real estate holding company. One of their assets in downtown Houston is the JPMorgan Chase Tower (www.chasetower.com).

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in developing, acquiring, leasing and managing real estate, as well as providing extensive global investment management and advisory services. The Hines portfolio of projects completed and underway includes 712 properties representing 230 million square feet of office, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, sports facilities and residential properties, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 78 U.S. cities and 11 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued in excess of $13 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Access www.Hines.com for more information.