The holdings also include 14 acres of land. Highwoods has tapped CB Richard Ellis as the listing agent. Tabitha Zane, vice president of investor relations for Highwoods, tells GlobeSt.com that the locally based company will put out marketing materials in early July with hopes to close a sale in the fourth quarter. No price tag has been attached to the portfolio, she adds.

Zane also tells GlobeSt.com that Highwoods' goal is to sell the space as one portfolio, which has an overall occupancy of approximately 82%.

"The decision to sell our Winston-Salem assets was made after careful review and analysis in which we determined that there are limited opportunities for substantive growth for Highwoods in this market, either through acquisitions or development," president and CEO Ed Fritsch explains. "A key tenet of our long-term strategic plan is growth through strategic in-fill development and there has been virtually no multi-tenant office development by anyone in Winston-Salem in over five years."

According to a company statement, Highwoods will close the Winston-Salem office, consolidating its Triad operations in its Greensboro office. After the sale, the company will own or manage 3.8 million sf--78% which is industrial--in the Piedmont Triad Airport submarket. The figure includes a $20-million industrial development pipeline.

A portion of the sale proceeds will fund Highwoods' $415-million development pipeline, and pay down existing debt and redeem an additional 8% preferred stock. Since January 2005, the company has decreased secured debt by $162 million and redeemed $220 million of 8% preferred stock, the company statement adds.

As of March 31, Highwoods Properties owned, or had an interest in, 385 in-service office, industrial and retail properties totaling approximately 33.9 million sf. It also owns 625 acres of developable land.

Instant Insights /

Highwoods Properties To Shed Nearly 2M SF

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