Downtown Raleigh Alliance

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Cami Stephens/Highwoods Properties
919.431.1521 (office)

Kristen Doherty/RBC Centura
919.788.6076 (office)

Andy Andrews/Dominion Partners
919.845.3306 (office)

HELLO RBC PLAZA
Groundbreaking for downtown Raleigh’s tallest tower gets motors running

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 26, 2006 – Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE:HIW), RBC Centura Bank and Dominion Partners today celebrated the groundbreaking and naming of the 33-story RBC Plaza, a mixed-use tower in downtown Raleigh.

In addition to bringing RBC Centura’s corporate headquarters to downtown Raleigh, the tower will offer additional office space for lease, as well as retail space and for-sale residential condominiums. It is expected to be completed in late 2008.

Raleigh-area officials, including Mayor Charles Meeker, and members of the local community applauded as Ed Fritsch, Highwoods Properties president and CEO, and Scott Custer, RBC Centura CEO, hopped on Bobcat® machines to break ground.

“Highwoods is excited to be the master developer and owner of what will be an outstanding, multi-use high-rise building to be built in downtown Raleigh,” said Fritsch. “Our company was founded here in 1978 – 28 years ago – and this more than $100 million project underscores our continuing commitment to Raleigh and our strong belief in its long-term growth and prosperity.”

In December 2005, RBC Centura selected Highwoods Properties to develop its headquarters building, to be located at the corner of Fayetteville, Martin and Wilmington streets. Highwoods selected Dominion Partners as the residential developer, Cooper Carry as the architect and Hardin Construction Co. as the general contractor for the project.

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RBC Plaza Groundbreaking 2

”We’ve been looking forward to this day for many months and the excitement of actually breaking ground certainly brings this project to life for us,” said Custer. “We are proud to have RBC’s name on this new building, which is sure to become a downtown Raleigh landmark.”

Standing 540 feet tall, RBC Plaza will be the tallest building in downtown Raleigh and will encompass more than 730,000 gross square feet of space, including office and retail space, parking and 11 stories of residential condominiums.

RBC Centura will be the building’s anchor tenant, leasing approximately 130,000 square feet of space. RBC Centura’s corporate offices will comprise approximately 126,000 square feet on floors 10 through 14 and floor 21. A 4,000-square-foot lobby-level banking center will also be located in the building’s first floor, in addition to other street-level retailers.

The office component of the project includes approximately 275,000 square feet of space on a total of 11 floors. Highwoods has submitted proposals to potential office and retail customers, and negotiations are already under way to lease the space.

RBC Plaza will not only be home to business and retail tenants, but it will also serve as a residential community appealing to people seeking an urban-living experience. Condominium living starts 265 feet above Fayetteville Street on the 23rd floor. The 139 condominiums range from 800 to 2,000 square feet with ten foot ceilings and private balconies. Residents will enjoy a plaza and pool on the 23rd floor, a fitness center and club room, 24-hour security, secured private parking, smart key access, granite countertops, garden tubs, high-speed Internet connection wiring and private storage units. One-, two- and three-bedroom condominium units are already for sale starting at $200,000.

An eight-level in-building parking deck opening onto Wilmington Street will provide approximately 560 controlled-access parking spaces. An additional 500 parking spaces will also be available in a parking deck to be developed by Highwoods on Wilmington Street, directly across the street from RBC Plaza.

The building facade will be constructed of architectural pre-cast glass and concrete designed to replicate the craftsmanship of stone. The building’s exterior on condominium-levels 23 through 33 will be floor-to-ceiling glass.

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RBC Plaza Groundbreaking 3

Access to the office tower on floors 10 through 21 will be available via four passenger elevators. Two of these elevators will be dedicated for access to the residential condominium tower, and the other two elevators will be dedicated for access to office parking located on floors two through nine.

RBC Centura is the U.S. bank subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada. It has more than $21 billion in assets and more than 3,700 employees in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. The company has 278 banking centers across these states. Approximately 300 employees currently work in Raleigh, and the bank expects that number to grow to at least 500 workers by 2009.

Since its founding in Raleigh in 1978, Highwoods has invested more than $1.8 billion in new development across all of its markets, of which well over $400 million has been in the Triangle. Since Jan. 1, 2005, the company has announced and/or commenced a total of $361 million in new development.

Dominion Partners has extensive experience in the development and sales of luxury condominiums. The team has successfully completed complex transactions in high-rise and mixed-use urban settings in several markets, including Atlanta and Richmond, Va. Collectively, the commercial and residential transactions handled by Dominion exceed $2 billion.

Partners that have been influential in the planning and development of RBC Plaza include: Highwoods Properties, RBC Centura, Dominion Partners, Cooper Carry, Progress Energy, Wake County and the City of Raleigh.
Interview Opportunities:
To arrange an interview with Highwoods Properties President and CEO Ed Fritsch contact: Cami
Stephens/Highwoods at 919.431.1521 (office) or 919.824.1490 (cell).
To arrange an interview with RBC Centura CEO Scott Custer contact: Kristen Doherty/RBC Centura at 919.788.6076 (office) or 919.219.1121 (cell).
To arrange an interview with Dominion Partners Principal and President Andy Andrews contact: Andy Andrews/Dominion Parnters at 919.845.3306 (office).
To learn more about the residential condominiums in RBC Plaza contact York Simpson Underwood Sales Contact Wes Minton at 919.782.6641.

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RBC Plaza Groundbreaking 4

Highwoods Properties Inc.
Highwoods Properties, a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, is a fully integrated, self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT") that provides leasing, management, development, construction and other customer-related services for its properties and for third parties. As of June 30, 2006, the company owned or had an interest in 418 in-service office, industrial and retail properties encompassing approximately 35.1 million square feet. Highwoods also owns approximately 830 acres of development land. Highwoods is based in Raleigh, N.C., and its properties and development land are located in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. www.highwoods.com

RBC Centura Bank
RBC Centura offers a wide range of financial services and advice, including a complete line of banking, investment, loan, mortgage, life insurance, and other services, to individuals, businesses and public institutions throughout the Southeast. RBC Centura's multifaceted customer access network includes nearly 280 full-service banking centers, an extensive ATM network, and telephone and Internet banking. In addition, RBC Centura offers builder finance products through its RBC Builder Finance division. According to the Federal Reserve, RBC Centura is the 50th largest U.S. commercial bank as of June 2005. RBC Centura Banks Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) (NYSE, TSX: RY). Additional information about RBC Centura may be found at www.rbccentura.com.

Dominion Partners
Dominion Partners, LLC, is a full-service real estate organization providing development, management, leasing and acquisition services. Collectively, the Dominion team of professionals brings more than four decades of real estate experience in handling quality commercial and residential transactions in the Southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States. The value of these transactions exceeds $2 billion. www.dominionpartnersllc.com

Cooper Carry
Founded in 1960, Cooper Carry is a multi-disciplinary design firm of 215 employees with offices in Atlanta, Ga., Alexandria, Va., and New York, N.Y. Cooper Carry’s work is overseen by 15 principals who pursue the firm’s philosophy of connective design, creating highly interactive spaces that mix uses and deliver value to the built environment and the community at large. The firm is comprised of five key disciplines: planning, architecture, interiors, landscapes and graphics. Beneath the umbrella of these disciplines are practice groups with expertise in hospitality, corporate, office, retail, residential, laboratory, education (K-12 and university), government and mixed-use projects. www.coopercarry.com