PRESS RELEASES

Hines Fund to Sell 919 Milam in Downtown Houston

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. Retained to Assist in Sale of Asset

05/8/2007

(HOUSTON, TX) – Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has been retained to market the sale of 919 Milam, a 26-story, 542,000-square-foot office building located in downtown Houston. Formerly known as 910 Travis, the building was originally constructed in 1956 and recently underwent an $11 million renovation, which included the installation of a 300-space parking garage within the building’s footprint.

The property’s new four–level parking garage consists of approximately 200,000 square feet, and provides 300 access-controlled parking spaces all with direct access to the buildings office floors. The reconfigured lobby features a grand backlit onyx-clad entry which leads into the epicenter of Houston's downtown tunnel system via high speed escalators.

The project was financed and is owned by National Office Partners Limited Partnership (NOP), a partnership of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Hines.

“We believe the present capital environment makes it the right time to bring this asset to market,” said John Mooz, vice president at Hines. “We saw in 919 Milam an opportunity to use the capabilities of the firm to transform one of Houston’s classic skyscrapers and reposition it to meet tenant needs for years to come.” 

Gary Holtzer, Hines vice president and senior investment officer for NOP added, “This acquisition represented an opportunity for us to invest in a very well located property and add value through redevelopment and repositioning of the building. The building is now well positioned to be occupied by a Class-A tenant roster in the strong Houston CBD market.”

“With the ongoing strength of the Houston economy and no new supply coming on-line for at least three years, 919 Milam offers a significant value add opportunity,” states HFF Executive Managing Director Scott Galloway.

Situated in the heart of Houston’s central business district, the property is located on a full city block bounded by Travis, Walker, Milam and McKinney streets and convenient to restaurants, hotels, retail outlets and city parks. The building is also centrally located at the crossroads of Houston’s underground pedestrian tunnel system, which links 919 Milam with all the major office buildings, hotels and retail centers.

HFF (NYSE: HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital market services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry.  HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, note sale and note sales advisory services and commercial loan servicing. 

CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling $232 billion, of which $18 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 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.