Wells REIT II Signs Ernst & Young to Lease Extension at 5 Houston Center

Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II (Wells REIT II) has signed a lease extension with accounting giant Ernst & Young U.S., LLP, the domestic arm of Ernst & Young International. 

Ernst & Young is the lead tenant at 5 Houston Center, located in the heart of Houston's central business district. The firm recently committed to extend their lease for an additional 10 years, until September 30, 2022. The 27-story Class A office property is owned by Wells REIT II, and is both LEED - Gold Certified and carries a high ENERGY STAR^® rating of 84.

A refurbishment of their leased space will accompany Ernst & Young's renewal and will offer environmentally sustainable answers to the ever evolving workplace of the future.  Ernst & Young will be optimizing their utilization of space by implementing new technologies, adapting to changing workplace habits, and supporting a mobile workforce.  These improvements will increase the number of conference rooms, team rooms, and places to collaborate while at the office.

"Our foundation in building a great real estate portfolio is the tenants that occupy our properties.  We are thrilled to extend our relationship with a truly great tenant, Ernst & Young. We look forward to continuing to serve their real estate needs." said Kevin Hoover, Managing Director of Real Estate for Wells REIT II. 

Ernst & Young is known as one of the "Big Four" accounting firms.  They provide audit, tax, consulting, financial, business and transaction advisory services to public and private companies in a wide variety of industries worldwide. 

Currently, the Wells REIT II portfolio includes 94 office buildings in 24 states, Washington, D.C., and Russia, covering more than 22 million square feet.  Wells REIT II closed to new investments on June 30, 2010.  For information on Wells REIT II, visit http://www.wellsreitii.com/.

Wells Real Estate Funds, advisor to Wells REIT II, is a national real estate investment company founded in suburban Atlanta in 1984.  In its history, Wells investment offerings - current and closed - have invested more than $11 billion in real estate for more than 250,000 investors.  For more information on Wells Real Estate Funds, visit 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, failure to satisfy certain closing conditions. 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.  For SEC filings:
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