Leasing successes prove green sells in a soft real estate market

MINNEAPOLIS (April 7, 2009) – Ryan Companies US, Inc. announced today that four tenants have signed leases at Two MarketPointe in Bloomington, Minn. Farmers Insurance, CIBER and Administaff joined anchor office tenant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in the 242,000-square-foot, class “A” office tower that is pre-certified to achieve LEED Gold certification. With these signed leases, the building – completed for occupancy in September 2008 – is 40 percent leased just 7 months after opening, charting an impressive track record in today’s economic climate.

Two MarketPointe’s attraction to businesses goes beyond its convenient location near the intersection of France and Interstate 494. Building amenities such as the 10-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows give the space an open feel, and have proven to increase the comfort and productivity of employees and provide a healthier work environment. Two MarketPointe is also the first multi-tenant building in the Twin Cities market to utilize under-floor air delivery. This system allows employees to control air flow settings in their individual workspace, and receive more direct fresh air.

“Two MarketPointe’s LEED Gold status appealed to CBRE because of our corporate commitment to carbon neutrality by 2012,” said Whitney E. Peyton, senior managing director for CBRE. “We wanted to achieve gold level certification for our interior space, and Ryan designed and constructed the building’s core and shell to help us meet that goal. The key to choosing Two MarketPointe over other class “A” or green buildings in the market, however, was its focus on employees. The key sustainability features in Two MarketPointe center on employee comfort, productivity and health and wellness.” CBRE has occupied 72,000 square feet on three floors since the company began its phased move-in September 2, 2008.

For Two MarketPointe, Ryan’s design-build team created a building they would want to work in: a high performance, environmentally-friendly building with an abundance of daylight, a healthy indoor environment, a convenient location with easy access to restaurants, coffee shops and other service businesses and ample parking.

Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance made the decision to locate its regional training facility at Two MarketPointe. “Farmers Insurance is excited to open a new facility at Two MarketPointe,” said Stan Bergstrom, Director of Farmers Centers, Farmers Insurance. “Farmers has led the industry in sustained growth and has identified the Twin Cites’ area as an opportunity for agency and policy expansion. The new facility’s primary function will be to recruit and train new small business agency owners.” Farmers will occupy its 12,300 square feet of space at Two MarketPointe in April.

As the nation’s leading professional employer association, Administaff understands that an ideal work environment not only improves employee morale, but also overall productivity.  The company evaluated multiple buildings in its search for office space and chose Two MarketPointe not only for the workplace environment but also because of the ideal location, building efficiencies and overall aesthetics. Administaff took occupancy of its 8,800 square foot space on February 1.

CIBER’s Paul Cmiel, Minnesota Area Office Director/VP, found the building’s design and amenities to be their tipping point for signing a lease for 3,000 square feet of space. “CIBER is pleased to be joining the Two MarketPointe project because the building offers a great central location along with the high-tech and environmentally-conscious image that CIBER wishes to portray in this market. Our new main floor location and the common conference areas will be very conducive for hosting our IT Executive Briefings and client meetings. We also feel the investment in this new location backs CIBER’s commitment to developing and growing local business relationships here in Minnesota.” CIBER’s space is currently under construction, and will be ready for occupancy on May 1.

The Pochay Deli and Convenience store occupies 1,000 square feet on the second floor of the building and opened December 8. In addition to sandwiches and other lunch items, the store offers a full selection of snacks and sundries for building tenants and guests.

Two MarketPointe features a Wi-Fi enabled lobby, a fitness center, a shared conference room and underground executive parking. The building also promotes mass transit commuting with its convenient location near bus routes, as well as bicycle storage and showers to promote bicycle commuting. For a detailed list of amenities and available space, visit www. twomarketpointe.com.

About LEED
Developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders, the LEED rating system is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. The LEED rating system for new construction offers four certification levels for new construction — Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. See the U.S. Green Building Council web site for more information: www.usgbc.org.

About Administaff
Administaff is the nation's leading professional employer organization (PEO), serving as a full-service human resources department that provides small and medium-sized businesses with administrative relief, big-company benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity. The company operates 49 sales offices in 24 major markets. For additional information, visit Administaff's web site at www.Administaff.com.

About CIBER
CIBER® is a leading international system integration consultancy and outsourcing provider with superior value-priced services for both private and government sector clients. CIBER’s services are offered on a project or strategic staffing basis, in both custom and enterprise resource planning (ERP) package environments, and across all technology platforms, operating systems and infrastructures. CIBER now serves client businesses from over 60 U.S. offices, 25 European offices and seven offices in Asia/Pacific. Operating in 18 countries, with more than 8,500 employees and annual revenue of approximately $1.2 billion. www.ciber.com

About Farmers Insurance
Farmers Group, Inc. ® is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services®, an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Farmers® is the nation's third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Headquartered in Los Angeles and doing business in 41 states, the insurers comprising the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies provide Homeowners, Auto, Business, Life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households.

About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2008 revenue). The Company has more than 30,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. CB Richard Ellis has been named a BusinessWeek 50 “best in class” company and Fortune 100 fastest growing company two years in a row. For additional information, visit CB Richard Ellis’ web site  at www.cbre.com.

About Ryan Companies, US, Inc.
Ryan Companies US Inc., a nationally recognized developer, design-builder and real estate manager, has specialized in fully integrated solutions for more than 70 years. Ryan builds lasting relationships with a project delivery model based on full-service customized solutions and total collaboration – pairing the customer’s needs and expectations with the talents of a team of developers, financiers, architects, engineers, constructors and property managers. In addition to its Minneapolis office, Ryan has offices in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan was named the 2007 National Developer of the Year by NAIOP, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association.  For more information, visit Ryan Companies US, Inc.’s web site at www.ryancompanies.com.