WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

• BB&T Signs 140,000 Office Lease at Riverfront Plaza in Richmond, VA

• Speculated Value of 10-Year Contract is $28 Million

• Lease Brings Hines-Owned Building to 95% Occupancy

• 500 Employees Will Occupy  Space in the 19-Year-Old Property

(RICHMOND, VA) -- BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT), one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., has signed a 140,000-square-foot office lease at the 21-story, 951,616-square-foot Riverfront Plaza in downtown Richmond, VA.  Local brokers say the deal is the largest of its kind in metro Richmond this year.

Riverfront Plaza

The Washington, DC office of Houston-based Hines, which owns Riverfront Plaza, coordinated the transaction.  Hines didn't disclose terms but called it a long-term lease that begins in 2010. BB&T is based in Winston Salem, NC.

However, area brokers familiar with Richmond's central business district office market speculate the lease is for 10 years at about $20 per square foot. That would make the total gross value of the lease at about $28 million.

Cushman & Wakefield's third-quarter office analysis for Richmond puts the average CBD rent for class A buildings at $22.75 per square foot.  The BB&T deal is noteworthy, brokers say, because the  direct vacancy rate  downtown averages 13.5 percent.  Third-quarter absorption was a negative 517,879 square feet.

The lease brings Riverfront Plaza's occupancy to 95 percent.
 
The two-building Riverfront Plaza complex is located at 901 and 951 East Byrd Street on the banks of the James River.  In a prepared statement, Hines says BB&T will relocate and consolidate its  Richmond-based regional headquarters office, its brokerage operation Scott & Stringfellow, and BB&T Capital Markets from nearby Richmond locations.

Richmond, VA skyline

BB&T's more than 500 employees in metro Richmond will occupy the property. A large  portion of the space leased by BB&T is the space recently vacated by Wachovia Securities. Wachovia Securities relocated from Richmond to St. Louis after its merger with A.G. Edwards.

"While we are disappointed to see the headquarters of Wachovia Securities leave Richmond, we are especially pleased to be bringing BB&T, a strong and exceptionally well- respected financial institution, to Riverfront Plaza to join our many other highly valued tenants," says Hines Vice President of Asset Management Thor Headley.

"This move demonstrates our long-term commitment to downtown Richmond and enables us to bring together employees across our financial services spectrum to better serve our clients," said Andy Hughes, president of BB&T's Central Virginia Region.

"Our ability to make this happen in the current environment also demonstrates the financial strength and stability of BB&T."

Wachovia Securities will continue to occupy an undisclosed amount of smaller space in the building. Other tenants include Hunton & Williams; LeClair Ryan; Virginia Economic Development Partnership; and UBS.

Riverfront Plaza was acquired in 2006 by the Hines U.S. Core Office Fund LP. Designed by HKS, Inc. Architects, the project was completed in 1990.

Last year, under Hines' management, the building was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), earning the EPA's ENERGY STAR® label in recognition of outstanding energy conservation. It was the first privately held commercial office building in downtown Richmond to receive this recognition, according to Hines.

At Sept. 30, 2009, BB&T had $165.3 billion in assets and operated more than 1,800 branches in 13 states and Washington, D.C.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide.

The firm's historical and current portfolio of projects that are under way, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,111 properties representing more than 449 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.

With offices in more than 100 cities in 17 countries, and controlled assets valued at about $22.9 billion, Hines calls itself  one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.

Stevens Gentil and Chuck Ellsworth of Grubb & Ellis|Harrison & Bates represented BB&T in the  lease negotiations. Michael Campbell of Dominion Realty Partners represented Hines.

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