RALEIGH, NC -- (Marketwired) -- 07/16/15 -- Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW) has signed a 79,000 square foot lease at Riverwood 200 with Delta Community Credit Union, the largest full-service credit union in Georgia and a new customer to Highwoods. Riverwood 200, a LEED certified, 299,000 square foot multi-customer office building targeted for completion mid-year 2017, is now 66% pre-leased. The development is adjacent to the Company-owned Riverwood 100 office building (502,500 square feet, 94.3% occupied) in Atlanta's Cumberland Galleria/Northwest submarket.

Ed Fritsch, president and chief executive officer, commented, "We are very pleased to add another high quality company to our growing pre-lease customer roster at Riverwood 200. We see continued demand for Class A space in this submarket and its attractiveness will strengthen even further with the Atlanta Braves' new stadium and complex, which is also slated for completion in mid-2017."

"This lease provides an exciting opportunity for Delta Community to consolidate our administrative functions and establish a headquarters campus in Cumberland/Galleria," said Hank Halter, CEO of Delta Community. "As our business growth continues, this transaction will offer an excellent, long-term solution for our business needs, providing an efficient, cohesive arrangement for the employees of Delta Community."

Year-to-date, Highwoods has delivered $161 million of development encompassing 668,000 square feet which is 95% pre-leased. The Company's current development pipeline encompasses 1.4 million square feet representing an investment of approximately $475 million that is 86% pre-leased.

About Delta Community Credit Union
Delta Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with a mission of providing consumers better service and value on the deposit, loan, investment and insurance products they use to manage their household expenses and save for the future. Delta Community was founded in 1940 and has become Georgia's largest credit union with $4.8 billion in assets and 26 branch locations. The Credit Union now welcomes residents of 11 metro Atlanta counties and employees of more than 140 businesses, including Chick-fil-A, Delta Air Lines, RaceTrac and UPS.

About Highwoods Properties
Highwoods Properties, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a publicly traded (NYSE: HIW) real estate investment trust ("REIT") and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company is a fully-integrated office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, Tampa and the Triad. For more information about Highwoods Properties, please visit our website at www.highwoods.com.

Certain matters discussed in this press release, such as the expected cost, timing and impact of our development activity, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are distinguished by use of the words "will", "expect", "intend" and words of similar meaning. Although Highwoods believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Highwoods' current expectations include, among others, the following: the financial condition of our customers could deteriorate; development activity by our competitors in our existing markets could result in excessive supply of properties relative to customer demand; development, acquisition, reinvestment, disposition or joint venture projects may not be completed as quickly or on as favorable terms as anticipated; we may not be able to lease or re-lease second generation space quickly or on as favorable terms as old leases; our markets may suffer declines in economic growth; we may not be able to lease our newly constructed buildings as quickly or on as favorable terms as originally anticipated; unanticipated increases in interest rates could increase our debt service costs; unanticipated increases in operating expenses could negatively impact our NOI; we may not be able to meet our liquidity requirements or obtain capital on favorable terms to fund our working capital needs and growth initiatives or to repay or refinance outstanding debt upon maturity; the Company could lose key executive officers; and others detailed in the Company's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC reports.

Source: Highwoods Properties, Inc.