5 Houston Center, Wells REIT II Property, Earns LEED Gold
Class-A office tower attains green building standard
NORCROSS, Ga. (April 21, 2010) - 5 Houston Center, a premier 27-story Texas office tower owned by Wells REIT II, has won gold-level certification under LEED, the standard for environmental real estate practices.
LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - is a national benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Certification is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold certification is the second-highest of four classifications under LEED standards.
Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II specializes in ownership and management of Class-A office properties. Eleven buildings owned by the REIT have now earned the exacting LEED certification.
"LEED certification is indicative of our approach, which is to operate every property as responsibly as we can when it comes to green building practices," said Don Henry, chief real estate officer, Wells Real Estate Funds. "5 Houston Center is a great example of a comprehensive green strategy having a real impact."
Under recent management initiatives, 5 Houston Center has implemented recycling of all nonfood waste, switched to USGBC-certified cleaning products, and installed a new irrigation system to reduce water use. The tower recently scored a high rating of 85 under ENERGY STAR® standards.
5 Houston Center is a modern office tower in downtown Houston; the primary tenant is accounting giant Ernst & Young. Wells acquired the property in 2005.
Wells REIT II owns 91 office and industrial buildings in 23 states; Washington, D.C.; and Moscow, Russia, covering more than 20 million square feet. For more information on the REIT, visit http://www.wellsreitii.com/.
Wells REIT II is a program of Wells Real Estate Funds, a national real estate investment company founded in suburban Atlanta in 1984. Since its inception, Wells investment offerings - current and closed - have invested more than $12 billion in real estate for more than 250,000 investors. For more information about Wells Real Estate Funds, see http://www.wellsref.com/.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. Readers of this press release should be aware that there are various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this release. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, changes in general economic and business conditions, industry trends, changes in government rules and regulations (including changes in tax laws), and increases in interest rates. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The identifier "Wells Real Estate Funds" is used generally in this communication, and not always in reference to Wells Real Estate Funds, Inc. The portfolios referenced are separate entities, as explained in the products' prospectuses. This is neither an offer nor a solicitation to purchase securities. Such an offer can be made only by prospectus. For a prospectus, contact Wells Investment Securities, Inc., 6200 The Corners Pkwy., Norcross, Ga. 30092-3365 (tel. 800-448-1010). SEC filings:
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001252849&owner=include.
