Wells REIT II Acquires Houston Office Building, Energy Center I
LEED Silver-Certified Building Leased to Foster Wheeler
NORCROSS, Ga. (June 30, 2010) - Wells REIT II announced today it has acquired Energy Center I, a new, environmentally certified 13-story office building in western Houston.
Energy Center I is fully leased to Foster Wheeler USA, a division of global engineering and construction contractor Foster Wheeler AG.
The building, a 332,000-square-foot glass tower completed just two years ago, is certified LEED Silver, under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a national benchmark for high-performance green buildings. The property also has won ENERGY STAR® designation.
Part of a two-building campus, Energy Center I is located at 585 North Dairy Ashford Road in west Houston's Energy Corridor submarket, along Interstate 10. The area is one of the nation's top 20 submarkets in three-year rent growth trends, according to Reis, the real estate information service.
"This is an excellent new property in a well-performing market," said Don Henry, chief real estate officer, Wells Real Estate Funds. "We're happy to welcome Foster Wheeler to our stable of great tenants."
Wells REIT II acquired the building from the building's owner and developer, Trammell Crow Company in joint venture with Principal Real Estate Investors. Wells was represented internally by Keith Willby, senior vice president, Capital Markets. Trammell Crow Company and Principal Real Estate Investors were represented by Executive Vice President Russell Ingrum and Vice President Todd Casper with CB Richard Ellis in Houston. Terms were not announced.
Wells REIT II, a public nontraded REIT specializing in office properties, now has 92 buildings in 23 states, Washington, D.C., and Moscow, covering more than 21 million square feet. Across the portfolio, Wells REIT II office properties are 96 percent leased.
Wells Real Estate Funds, manager of Wells REIT II, is a national real estate investment company based in suburban Atlanta. Since its founding in 1984, Wells investment programs - current and closed - have invested more than $12 billion in real estate for more than 250,000 investors. For more information, see http://www.wellsref.com/; for more information on Wells REIT II, visit http://www.wellsreitii.com/.
About Trammell Crow Company
Trammell Crow Company, founded in 1948, is one of the nation's leading developers and investors in real estate. It has developed or acquired over 500 million square feet of buildings with a value exceeding $50 billion. As of March 31, 2010, Trammell Crow Company had over $5.6 billion of projects in process or in its pipeline.
Trammell Crow Company's teams are dedicated to building value for their clients with professionals in approximately 15 major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company serves users of, and investors in, office, industrial, retail, healthcare, higher education, airport facilities, multi-family residential and mixed-use projects. For those who occupy real estate, TCC can execute the development or acquisition of facilities tailored to meet its clients' needs. For investor clients, the company offers large strategic joint ventures, opportunity funds, and other targeted investment options.
Trammell Crow Company is an independently operated subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate services firm (based on 2009 revenues). For more information visit http://www.trammellcrow.com/.
About Principal Real Estate Investors
Principal Real Estate Investors is the fourth largest institutional real estate manager in the United States based on tax-exempt assets under management and manages or subadvises $33.7 billion* in commercial real estate assets. The firm's real estate capabilities include both public and private equity and debt investment alternatives. Principal Real Estate Investors is the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors, a diversified asset management organization and a member of the Principal Financial Group®.
*AUM as of 3/31/10.
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. 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 (tel. 800-448-1010). SEC filings:
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001252849&owner=include.
