News Article | 5/24/2007

ERNST & YOUNG ANNOUNCES DALLAS OFFICE RELOCATION TO DALLAS’ VICTORY PARK

DALLAS (May 24, 2007) – Ernst & Young LLP today announced that it will move its North Texas headquarters to the One Victory Park office building located in Victory Park, which will also house Haynes & Boone, LLP and PlainsCapital Bank. The firm plans to lease approximately 150,000 square feet in the top floors of the 20-story office building being co-developed by Hillwood and Hines. Ernst & Young’s Dallas office personnel will move to the new space in July 2009.

“We are very pleased to join other well established Dallas companies in making the exciting move to Victory Park,” said Dallas Office Managing Partner Clint McDonnough. “In addition to offering a prominent address in one of the Southwest’s premier real estate developments, One Victory Park features numerous amenities that reflect Ernst & Young’s commitment to putting our People First. It will also help us attract and retain the kind of top talent that fuels our pledge to provide clients with Quality in Everything We Do.”

“Victory Park is excited to add Ernst & Young to its list of clients and welcome them to our urban neighborhood,” said Ross Perot, Jr., chairman of Hillwood. “They are a premier firm and to have them select Victory Park reinforces the dynamic and unique atmosphere we have created. Forward thinking companies like Ernst & Young recognize that an environment that has a diverse mixture of entertainment, retail and restaurant choices all within walking distance of work is critical to attracting and retaining associates.”

Located along the west side of Victory Avenue, adjacent to a one-acre urban park, Ernst & Young’s new Dallas headquarters will be an integral office component of the $3-billion, 75-acre mixed-use Victory Park development.

“Following along the Hillwood tradition of being environmentally progressive, Victory Park is the catalyst for developing environmentally friendly office buildings for the 21st century,” said Perot.

One Victory Park already has received Silver LEED-CS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell Development) pre-certification. According to the U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC), the LEED program sponsor, One Victory Park is currently the only registered multi-tenant LEED office building in Dallas. Victory Park has been referred to as one of the greatest examples of urban remediation by the Environmental Protection Agency. Also, Victory Park received the prestigious Phoenix Award as one of the country’s top remediation projects.

Employees will have 24-hour on-site security with a controlled access system, convenient access to the DART Rail at Victory Station, excellent ingress and egress from all major thoroughfares, and WiFi throughout the district. The complex will be just steps away from an array of luxury condominiums, apartments, hotels, restaurants, one-of-a-kind retailers, an urban market and the American Airlines Center.

Ernst & Young’s decision to move to One Victory Park was also based on the benefits of a new building including square footage, raised floors, efficient floor plates, affordable parking, and proximity to restaurants and other amenities for its people.

“By working with both CBRE and The Staubach Company, our firm maintained its objectivity in making an important decision among a number of quality office location choices,” McDonnough said. “Ernst & Young was extremely pleased with the way the Dallas real estate community responded to our office space search, as well as our ultimate decision that Victory Park was the compelling choice for the firm and our people.”

Currently, Hillwood and Hines are working with Ernst & Young to plan pre-move activities associated with the firm’s relocation to One Victory Park. Among these activities is a “hard hat party,” which will be held in conjunction with the placement of Ernst & Young’s prominent building signage, which faces west toward I-35E, east toward Woodall Rogers and north toward the Tollway.

“All of our people at Ernst & Young are extremely proud to be part of the effort to unite our city’s vibrant Downtown and Uptown Areas with a livable urban center,” said McDonnough. “As long time and active supporters of Dallas economic development initiatives, it feels good to be able to do the right thing for all our constituents at the same time – our people, our clients, and our community.”

Ernst & Young was represented by Phil Puckett and Chris Hermann both of CBRE, and Carl Ewert and Larry Toon with Staubach Company. Bill Brokaw of Hillwood and Clayton Elliott of Hines represented the building owners.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, a U.K. company limited by guarantee, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP is a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

About Hillwood

Hillwood, (www.hillwood.com) a Perot company, is ranked as one of the top commercial real estate developers in the country and the top residential developer in Dallas-Fort Worth. The company’s developments currently house facilities for 85 companies listed on either the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes List of Top Private firms. In addition to Victory Park, Hillwood is best known for its development of the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas project, located 15 miles northwest of DFW Airport, and the 2,000-acre AllianceCalifornia project in San Bernardino.

About Victory Park

Located in the heart of Dallas, Victory Park is one of the country’s most significant and innovative master-planned urban developments. Victory Park is creating a new urban environment with a carefully crafted collection of emerging and reputation retail, distinctive dining, modern office space, dramatic residential units, hotels and signature entertainment venues, including the American Airlines Center. Victory Park is owned by Hillwood, a Perot Company, and Hicks Holdings, owned by Tom Hicks. For more information on Victory Park, visit http://www.victorypark.com.

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in developing, acquiring, leasing and managing real estate, as well as providing extensive international investment management and advisory services. The Hines portfolio of projects completed, underway, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 700 properties representing over 244 million square feet of office, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, sports facilities and residential properties, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 69 U.S. cities and 12 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $11 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Access http://www.hines.com for more information.