PRESS RELEASES

Hines and CalPERS Acquire Cottonwood Corporate Center in Salt Lake City

11/21/2005

(SALT LAKE CITY, UT) – The Salt Lake City office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that it has acquired Cottonwood Corporate Center on behalf of National Office Partners Limited Partnership (NOP), its investment partnership with the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), from Cottonwood Partners.  The terms of the sale were not disclosed.  The four-building, Class A office complex is located in the Cottonwood suburb of Salt Lake City.  It is situated at the base of Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons, in close proximity to Salt Lake International Airport, and 15 miles from major destination ski resorts.

Palmer Team represented the seller, and Hines represented NOP in the transaction.  Hines has assumed property management and leasing responsibilities for the project in joint venture with Cottonwood Partners.

Cottonwood Corporate Center was designed by Giles Stransky Brems Smith.  The 471,348-square-foot complex includes: 

2855 East Cottonwood Parkway, which contains five stories, 104,872 square feet and was completed in 1997.

2825 East Cottonwood Parkway, which contains five stories, 104,934 square feet and was completed in 1998.

2795 East Cottonwood Parkway, which contains six stories, 130,762 square feet and was completed in 1999.

2755 East Cottonwood Parkway, which contains six stories, 130,780 square feet and was completed in 2000.

Cottonwood Corporate Center is 92% leased to a strong mix of tenants including:  Kern River Gas Transmission; Mrs. Fields Cookies; Extra Space Storage; and Sonic Innovations.

"Hines is pleased to make this investment in these premier office buildings in the most desirable and top-performing office submarket in Salt Lake City,” said Hines Senior Vice President Colin Shepherd.  “The critical mass of office tenants, upscale amenities, and executive housing, in addition to the spectacular views, make Cottonwood Corporate Center an excellent long-term investment for Hines and CalPERS.”

This transaction represents NOP’s 17th major acquisition since its inception in July 1998. In addition, NOP has acquired four major development sites since July 1998, on which four projects have been completed.  The CalPERS/Hines partnership sold 15 properties during 2004 with an aggregate value of approximately $2.5 billion.  The acquisition of Cottonwood Corporate Center will bring the total number of office properties in the NOP portfolio to seven, with a total value of approximately $1 billion.

“Salt Lake City represents a new market for NOP, and Cottonwood Corporate Center is an exceptional addition to our portfolio,” said Daniel MacEachron, Hines’ senior vice president who heads the NOP partnership.  “We have capital commitments through 2006 that provide us with new investment capacity of over $1.0 billion, and we are working actively on additional prospective acquisitions around the country.”

Hines also owns and manages the Kearns Building, a 10-story, 145,000-square-foot office building located on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City.

National Office Partners was formed in 1998, and currently owns properties located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.  For further information on NOP, refer to www.noplp.com.

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling more than $196 billion, of which $9.4 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.