Highwoods Properties Announces Expansion of Build-to-Suit Project for the Federal Aviation Administration

Business Wire, March 24, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW), the largest owner and operator of suburban office properties in the Southeast, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is doubling the size of the build-to-suit project it awarded to Highwoods in June 2007 from 50,000 to 100,000 square feet. The project is located at Highwoods-dominated Tradeport, an office and industrial park adjacent to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and is being built on land already owned by the Company. Construction has commenced and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2009.

Ed Fritsch, president and chief executive officer, commented, "We are pleased the FAA is expanding the size of this project and congratulate our Atlanta team for their hard work in establishing and enhancing our relationship with this important customer. Tradeport is a strategic infill-location in Atlanta that is becoming increasingly important as traffic at one of America's busiest airports continues to grow. We currently own 622,000 square feet at Tradeport, including three office and five industrial buildings."

Over the past five years, the Company has been awarded approximately $160 million of build-to-suit development projects by various agencies of the federal government, all of which were 100% pre-leased.

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. At December 31, 2007, the Company owned or had an interest in 378 in-service office, industrial and retail properties encompassing approximately 33.9 million square feet. Highwoods also owns 634 acres of development land. Highwoods is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and its properties and development land are located in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. For more information about Highwoods Properties, please visit our Web site at www.highwoods.com.