Alliance Finishes Decade With A Flourish

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJANUARY 20, 2000

ALLIANCE FINISHES DECADE WITH A FLOURISH Contact: David Pelletier (817) 224-6044

In 1999 for the first time ever Hillwood leased more than 1.4 million square feet and sold more than 200 acres at Alliance in the same year. These transactions translate into the initial creation of approximately 3,000 jobs, many of which are already in place. The 1.47 million square feet leased in 1999 is second in Alliance history only to the 1.8 million square feet leased in 1998. Over the past two years, more than 3.3 million square feet have been leased at Alliance.

The largest lease of 1999 at Alliance was 287,240 square feet to John Deere in March. Hillwood also leased 192,037 square feet to Hewlett-Packard in September and two buildings totaling 187,644 square feet to Ameritrade in March.

Hillwood also sold 237.2 acres at Alliance in 1999. That’s the second most of the 1990s behind the 708.6 acres sold at the development in 1996. More than 750,000 square feet is either already built or under construction on the acreage sold in 1999.

In June Federal Express purchased 102 acres adjacent to its 986,000 square foot sorting hub at Alliance. The UPS Logistics Group purchased 18 acres in November to build a 320,000 square foot distribution and technology center at Alliance. The facility also will house the Latin American Headquarters for UPS Worldwide Logistics. The company also may expand on an additional 80 acres to create a “campus” environment for multiple client use.

Valeo, one of the world’s leading suppliers to the automotive industry, purchased seven acres in June to construct a 65,000 square foot electronics manufacturing facility. Hillwood also sold land to Children’s Courtyard for Alliance’s first child care facility in ’99.

“Not only did we attract some great new customers to Alliance in 1999,” said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties, “but we saw several of our existing corporate residents expand their operations here. That, along with the increasing migration of their suppliers to the development, provided a great boost to last year’s activity.”

Nokia, whose Alliance facility is the world’s most productive mobile phone manufacturing center, expanded into the 74,000 square foot Gateway 15 building in ’99. The company now utilizes approximately 500,000 square feet at Alliance. Perlos, a Nokia supplier that has been at Alliance since 1995, expanded their existing facility by 98,400 square feet last year. Another Nokia supplier, Nolato, moved into 40,000 square feet in January 1999 and will expand into an additional 96,000 square feet this year. Savcor Coatings, a supplier to Perlos and Nolato, leased 42,000 square feet in September.

The aerospace industry also developed a supply chain at Alliance in 1999. Recaro, a seat manufacturer for American Airlines, leased 61,000 square feet last year. Questron, which supplies parts to Galaxy Aerospace and Recaro, leased 40,000 square feet in November. In addition Bell Textron purchased a 29,000 square foot building and 15 acres at Alliance to serve as the headquarters for Bell Agusta Aerospace Corporation and a training and delivery center for the new BA 609 tiltrotor aircraft.

Alliance houses more than 80 companies, including 22 Fortune 500 firms. The 9,600-acre development is anchored by the world’s first industrial airport in north Fort Worth. Hillwood also is developing Victory and American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas; Circle T Ranch in Westlake, Texas; Heritage in north Fort Worth; nine residential communities in Dallas/Fort Worth; and properties in Austin, Atlanta, Tucson, California and Hawaii.