• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Highwoods Properties Awarded 62,000-Square Foot Build-to-Suit Lease By Comcast Corporation in Memphis

Posted on: Monday, 23 July 2007, 12:10 CDT

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW), the largest owner and operator of suburban office properties in the Southeast, today announced that it has been awarded a build-to-suit lease in Memphis for approximately 62,000 square feet by Comcast Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Highwoods will invest approximately $9.4 million in the project, which will be located on a 6.3 acre site the Company already owns in the Southwind Commercial area of Memphis. The building will be 100% occupied by Comcast under a long-term, triple-net lease agreement with annual escalators. Construction on the project will begin in the third quarter of 2007 with completion scheduled for the third quarter of 2008. Comcast will be consolidating its Memphis-area administrative functions and call center operations at this new location.

Ed Fritsch, president and chief executive officer, commented, "We are pleased that Comcast has selected Highwoods for this project. We are excited about establishing a relationship with this high-quality corporation in Memphis and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship. I also applaud our Memphis team for their fine work in securing another build-to-suit deal."

With the addition of this development project, the Company's development pipeline grows to approximately 2.8 million square feet that is 62% pre-leased, representing an investment of over $466 million with an average stabilized cash yield exceeding 9%. Since January 2005, the Company has started $522 million of new development projects and delivered $262 million of development that is currently 76% leased.

About Comcast Corporation:

Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.1 million high-speed Internet customers, and 3.0 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

About Highwoods Properties

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 March 31, 2007, the Company owned or had an interest in 385 in-service office, industrial and retail properties encompassing approximately 33.9 million square feet. Highwoods also owned 625 acres of development land. Highwoods is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and its properties and development land are located in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. For more information about Highwoods Properties, please visit our Web site at www.highwoods.com.

Certain matters discussed in this press release, such as expected 2007 operational results and the related assumptions underlying our expected operational results, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are distinguished by use of the words "will", "expect", "intends" and words of similar meaning. Although Highwoods believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Highwoods' current expectations include, among others, the following: the financial condition of our customers could deteriorate; unwaived defaults, if any, under our debt instruments could result in an acceleration of some of our outstanding debt; speculative development by others could result in excessive supply of office properties relative to customer demand; development, acquisition, reinvestment, disposition or joint venture projects may not be completed as quickly or on as favorable terms as anticipated; we may not be able to lease or re-lease space quickly or on as favorable terms as old leases; unexpected difficulties in obtaining additional capital to satisfy our future cash needs or unexpected increases in interest rates would increase our debt service costs; and others detailed in the Company's 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC reports.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category