PRESS RELEASES

Hines and CalPERS Acquire 301 Congress in Austin, TX

06/6/2007

(AUSTIN, TX) – The Austin office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that it has acquired 301 Congress on behalf of National Office Partners Limited Partnership (NOP), its investment partnership with the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), from a joint venture between Crescent Real Estate Equities Company and Aetna.  The 22-story, 418,338-square-foot office tower is located at Congress and E. 3rd Street in downtown Austin just blocks from the state Capitol. 

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the seller, and Hines represented NOP in the transaction.  Hines will assume property management and leasing responsibilities.

301 Congress was designed by Hylton-Dey Associates/Harwood K. Smith & Partners and was completed in 1986.  The Class A office tower is clad in imported polished granite panels with aluminum-framed glass curtain walls located on the east and west elevations of the tower and the roof. The Congress Avenue grand entrance opens into a dramatic five-story glass atrium of dark rich Talvassolo polished granite, and provides views of the tower and sky above.  Parking is provided in a nine-level attached garage—four levels below-grade parking and five levels above-grade.

The office building is currently 84.7 percent leased to a prestigious roster of tenants including:  AIM Management; A.G. Edward & Sons, Inc.; BearingPoint, Inc., Citigroup; Guaranty Bank; and RBC Dain Rauscher.

"The vibrant Austin market is continuing to strengthen, and we believe this well-located asset with its strong base of office tenants, and nearby retail and cultural amenities, will benefit from that,” said Hines Vice President Travis Overall.  “We’re also excited to be re-entering the Austin CBD market.”

“301 Congress is an exceptional addition to the NOP portfolio,” said Dan Rashin, Hines’ senior vice president who heads the NOP partnership.  “We will continue to seek new development, value-add and existing-building investment opportunities in the area and across the country.”

National Office Partners was formed in 1998.  NOP assets are located in Chicago, Emeryville (CA), Houston, Palo Alto (CA), Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Silver Spring (MD), Wellesley (MA) and Seattle.  For further information on NOP, refer to www.noplp.com.

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling $249 billion, of which $19 billion is invested in real estate. The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than one million state and public employees and their families. For further information on CalPERS, please visit the System’s Web site at www.calpers.ca.gov.

Hines entered the Austin market in 1975 with the downtown development of the Austin National Bank building (now Bank of America Tower).  The firm sold the building in 2004.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 950 properties representing approximately 380 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, retail and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.  With offices in 67 U.S. cities and 15 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $16 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.