PRESS RELEASES

Hines and Crescent Real Estate Equities Officially Break Ground on Prestigious 2211 Michelson Class A Office Tower in Irvine CBD

1/26/2006

(IRVINE, CA) — Hines, the international, privately held real estate firm, and Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE:CEI), a real estate investment trust, are breaking ground today on the joint venture’s 2211 Michelson Class A office tower development in Orange County’s John Wayne Airport submarket.

“Hines is pleased to move forward on its first project in Orange County,” said Jeffrey C. Hines, president and co-owner of Hines. “We are committed to establishing a long-term position in this exciting and economically diverse region of Southern California. 2211 Michelson will be an architecturally distinctive office building and will set a local example of the Hines Standard, a globally recognized commitment to quality real estate development and operation.”

2211 Michelson is the newest office project to break ground in the maturing Irvine CBD. Hines and Crescent commissioned the architect, Paul Danna of DMJM’s Los Angeles office, to design a building that would offer a dramatic standout in the local market and a vision of timeless aesthetics paired with efficiently configured office space. The building will be sheathed in an exterior of white architectural metal panels and silver vision glass, offering 265,000 square feet of modern office space in 12 stories.

“This project is bound to set a new standard for excellence in Orange County, and Crescent is pleased to move forward with Hines on this significant development,” said Thomas G. Miller, managing director, investments for Crescent. “When complete, 2211 Michelson will offer a distinctive building in one of the nation’s best office markets. With the tower’s exceptional design, along with its generous landscaping and nearby amenities, customers seeking space near John Wayne Airport will be hard pressed to find a better option.”

Following today’s ceremony, site preparation will begin on the 1.2-acre parcel fronting Michelson Drive and will include the demolition of an existing surface parking lot. Hines, which will oversee development of 2211 Michelson, has confirmed its order of 2,300 tons of steel to complete the building, with delivery expected by summer 2006.

Irvine, Calif.-based Snyder Langston has been appointed as the project’s general contractor, and will be responsible for construction of 2211 Michelson from site preparation to completion. ARB, Inc. of Lake Forest, Calif. will design and build the building’s adjacent six-story parking structure and will commence construction following completion of site preparation.

According to Doug Holte, Hines’ West Region partner and director of its Orange County and San Diego operations, “Hines has set an aggressive timeline for the company’s first development project in Orange County, with a delivery schedule timed to meet market demand. After today’s ground breaking, expect to see tangible evidence of progress as construction of 2211 Michelson moves towards the building topping-out in late summer and reaching completion by spring 2007.”

When complete, 2211 Michelson will be distinctively recognized on the streetscape for its extensive use of architectural white metal panels and high-performance silver vision glass. The building design expresses precision and sophistication on the skyline, and will feature the most extensive decorative building-top night lighting in the Irvine CBD. On the streetscape, 2211 Michelson is also designed to harmonize with the existing Von Karman Towers campus and future office, retail and residential uses under development along Michelson Drive.

Located within the original Koll Center Irvine South Campus (now Von Karman Towers) and just east of John Wayne Airport, 2211 Michelson will offer 270-degree panoramic views of the rolling San Joaquin Hills, the Santa Ana Mountain Range and the Newport Coast. The property will feature penthouse corner balconies. Typical floorplates will offer 23,000 square feet of column-free lease space. The rectangular floorplate will provide for an efficient layout and a maximum amount of glass. Each floor will provide opportunities for eight corner offices due to the insets in the structure. The building will include state-of-the-art, energy-efficient operating services, and advanced fiber-optic infrastructure.

2211 Michelson will be accessible via north and south lobby entrances, approached through covered arcades leading to a day-lit lobby finished in a timeless palette of white marble flooring, white opaque glass and red travertine accent walls. Floor-to-ceiling glass entrances on both sides of the lobby will open to a tranquil south-facing garden featuring native California trees, along with a series of graceful, pedestrian-scaled seating areas and a bocce court.

2211 Michelson will feature an adjacent six-story structure offering parking to tenants at a four-space-per-1,000-square-feet ratio, and will offer convenient visitor and VIP surface parking spaces with landscaped, colonnade-lined access to the building. A planned taxi and limousine drop-off entrance will be situated at the northern-facing side of the building.

As part of a 75-acre extended campus that includes its neighbors in Von Karman Towers, Lakeshore Towers and the Irvine Center Towers, 2211 Michelson will offer access to a host of regional amenities. John Wayne Airport is only two blocks away and adjacent retail and hotel options are also within walking distance, including a Marriott hotel, Prego and Il Forniao restaurants, the Michelson Marketplace retail center and 24-Hour Fitness.

For more information about Hines and its Orange County market presence or 2211 Michelson, project development milestones, leasing representatives and project consultants, please contact Macy + Associates at (310) 821-5300 to secure information from the appropriate source, or visit www.2211michelson.com.

About Hines:
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects completed, underway, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 830 properties representing approximately 330 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.  Hines entered the California market in 1979 with the development of downtown San Francisco’s 101 California. The firm’s West Region includes approximately 21 million square feet. With offices in 64 U.S. cities and 14 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately$11.7 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Access www.hines.com for more information.

About Crescent Real Estate Equities Company:
Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE: CEI) is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, Crescent owns and manages a portfolio of 75 premier office buildings totaling 31 million square feet located in select markets across the United States, with major concentrations in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Denver, Miami and Las Vegas. Crescent also makes strategic investments in resort residential development, as well as destination resorts, including Canyon Ranch®. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.crescent.com.

About Snyder Langston:
Founded in 1959 by Don Snyder and Bill Langston, Snyder Langston is one of the oldest builders/developers of commercial/industrial real estate projects in Southern California. Over the years, the firm has evolved as a full-service, multi-disciplined real estate and construction services company offering clients a comprehensive approach to the real estate development and construction processes. For more information, visit www.snyderlangston.com.

About ARB, Inc:
Incorporated in 1960, ARB is one of the leading specialty contractors in the nation specializing in clear-span, cast-in-place, concrete parking structures and complex structural concrete installations. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., privately held ARB is one of the few contractors in Southern California that self-performs all of its form, place and finish work with its own crews and equipment. Currently ranked 108 in the Engineering News Record Top 400 Contractors, ARB continues add value to the construction process by providing quality workmanship and economy under the oversight of professionals well-versed in the nuances of parking structure and major infrastructure construction.

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