New Class A Office Building Coming to Richmond, Va.

May 26, 2006
Highwoods Properties to build 95,000-s.f. office building in Innsbrook Corporate Center

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2006--Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW), the largest owner and operator of suburban office properties in the Southeast, today announced that it will develop its second building at North Shore Commons, an approximate $13.6 million, 95,000 square foot multi-tenant, Class "A" office building in Innsbrook Corporate Center in Richmond, Virginia. Highwoods owns or manages 36 buildings encompassing 2.4 million square feet of office space in the Innsbrook area that currently are, on average, 93% occupied. The average occupancy of the Innsbrook Corporate Center is 92%. Construction commenced in the second quarter and this four-story building is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2007.

Ed Fritsch, president and chief executive officer of Highwoods Properties, stated, "Our properties in the Innsbrook Corporate Center have consistently out-performed the market. Innsbrook is one of the most desirable office parks for business to locate in Richmond and we anticipate solid demand for this new property."

Since the beginning of 2005, Highwoods has announced $327 million of development starts that are currently 45% pre-leased. The Company has forecasted commencing between $300 million and $400 million of development between 2005 and 2007.

About the Company

Highwoods Properties, Inc., a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, is a fully integrated, self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT") that provides leasing, management, development, construction and other customer-related services for its properties and for third parties. As of March 31, 2006, the Company owned or had an interest in 417 in-service office, industrial and retail properties encompassing approximately 35.0 million square feet. Highwoods also owns 896 acres of development land. Highwoods is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and its properties and development land are located in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. For more information about Highwoods Properties, please visit our Web site at www.highwoods.com.