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KBR Tower, Houston

(NEW YORK, NY) -- The largest U.S. office lease since fall 2008 - that's what Brookfield Properties Corp. (BPO: NYSE, TSX) says it has completed in Houston, TX.

The New York City-based developer has closed a multi-million-dollar, 1.2-million-square-foot lease renewal and expansion with KBR, a global engineering and construction services company also headquartered in NYC.

The leased space is at the KBR Tower and at 500 Jefferson St. at the four-tower Cullen Center in downtown Houston.

"We are thrilled that KBR has chosen to renew and expand office space at two of our properties in the Cullen Center complex, including the tower that bears the company's name," says Dennis Friedrich, president & CEO of Brookfield Properties' U.S. Commercial Operations.

"Successfully completing an office transaction of this size - involving a significant expansion - speaks to the increase in tenant activity we are beginning to see around our major markets," Friedrich says.

Dennis Friedrich

KBR renewed its existing 700,000 square feet of space at KBR Tower as well as nearly 300,000 square feet at 500 Jefferson St. and is expanding its presence in both buildings by a combined 234,000 square feet.

"We are thrilled that KBR has chosen to renew and expand office space at two of our properties in the Cullen Center complex, including the tower that bears the company's name," says Paul Layne, regional head for Brookfield Properties' Houston operations.

"Expanding our downtown Houston presence is not only a good business decision, but also brings the added benefit of contributing to our City's continued downtown revitalization," said Klaudia Brace, Senior Vice President, Administration for KBR.

Paul Layne

Dan Bellow and Mike Boehler of Jones Lang LaSalle represented KBR in lease negotiations. Brookfield was represented in-house by Layne and Paul Frazier.

The Cullen Center complex consists of four office towers: the two mentioned above as well as Continental Centers I & II. These towers offer a unique combination of office space in one mixed-use complex.

Brookfield Properties owns, manages and operates 9.1 million square feet of commercial space in Houston.

Klaudia Brace

Brookfield Properties owns, develops and manages premier office properties. Its current portfolio is comprised of interests in 110 properties totaling 75 million square feet in the downtown cores of New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa, making it one of the largest owners of commercial real estate in North America.

Landmark assets include the World Financial Center in Manhattan, Brookfield Place in Toronto, Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles and Bankers Hall in Calgary, Canada.

The company's common shares trade on the NYSE and TSX under the symbol BPO.

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